Hon Maggie Barry

Minister of Conservation
21 April 2016

Change to Taupo fishing regulations process

Amendments to how regulations are made for the Lake Taupo trout fishery will make its management more responsive, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says.

“The change will allow fishing conditions developed by the Taupo Fishery Advisory Committee, including the key management tools of daily bag and fish size limits, to be approved solely by the Minister of Conservation rather than through the Cabinet process, as was the case,” Ms Barry says.

“The new process will make it easier to respond to the natural year-by-year changes in fish size and abundance. Currently, this takes too long and is a cause of some frustration for anglers,”

“What it means is that in a year where there are more trout spawning we can raise the bag limit to allow anglers to catch more – and likewise, in a year where fish are smaller on average we can reduce the size limit to protect breeding stock and safeguard the fishery.”

Fishing regulation changes for Taupo can also now be published as Gazette angler notices, as happens in all other New Zealand trout fisheries.

“The Taupo Fishery Advisory Committee, Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board and the Taupo angling community have all been supportive of this change,” Ms Barry says.

Gazetted today, the new regulations will take effect from May 19.

“The trout fishery is worth $11 million a year to the Taupo economy and supports around 300 jobs – these minor changes will make its management more flexible and in line with other trout fisheries across the country.”

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