The future of recreational freshwater fishing in New Zealand is looking grim if new legislation passes as currently proposed, says a South Island angler.
The stated aim of the Green Party’s Freshwater Fish Amendment Bill, currently at select committee stage, is to increase protection of indigenous freshwater fish species without directly impacting on recreational angling, but Murchison man Felix Borenstein says this is “totally disingenuous.”
“Of course it will affect recreational fishing,” he says, “if passed in its current form, this Bill will effectively strip Fish & Game of its statutory authority, put the Department of Conservation in charge of all freshwater management and exempt iwi from any restrictions around the moving and selling of game fish, so how could it not?
“To claim otherwise is to display either a frightening degree of political naivety or a total disregard for over 100,000 Kiwi anglers who are being hung out to dry by this Bill.”
Felix supports protection of indigenous freshwater fish species but not, he says, at the expense of Kiwis for whom angling is part of the New Zealand way of life.
“The biggest threat to indigenous fish stocks isn’t introduced species; it’s poor water quality,” he says, “disempowering anglers, hamstringing their advocacy organisation and curtailing their freedoms isn’t going to fix that.”
As owner of a luxury fishing lodge Felix admits he has “skin in the game” on the issue but insists this is not his prime motivation for speaking out against the Bill.
“I was a recreational angler long before I built a lodge and I still am,” he says. “Unless it’s revised, the Bill will make it a hell of a lot harder for over 100,000 anglers to enjoy the health benefits of being out in nature.”