As oyster lovers mourn the end of another season, whitebaiters are busy preparing for their season to begin tomorrow.
The oyster season officially has just finished, having started on March 1.
Barnes Oysters Ltd general manager Graeme Wright said while the past oyster season had not been particularly good, there were some positive takeaways.
"It’s just one of those traits of Mother Nature, I guess.
"We’ve had lots and lots of little baby oysters which have been born in the last two or three years, whereas previous to that we’ve had probably six or eight years where we’ve had very little or no recruitment. It’s simply the way the cycles of the industry are," Mr Wright said.
Sales had been strong throughout the season, with Barnes Oysters Ltd meeting its industry quota of 7.5 million oysters passing through the doors, he said.
"That’s another season ticked over. We’ve had a few bumps in the season, but historically that just seems to happen."
After a flurry of new regulations were introduced in 2021 and 2022 by the Department of Conservation (Doc) to protect fish populations, the only regulation changes this season are specific to the West Coast to bring it in line with the rest of the country.
Doc community ranger Alan Christie said the regions were effectively now singing from the same song sheet.
"I know [whitebaiters are] looking forward to the season, and understandably so — but the expectation is that people obey the rules and make it a level playing field for everyone out there trying to get a feed.
"If they do that, and we come along, then that’ll be fantastic. But if you’re breaching the regulations, then people can expect to have their details taken down and then we’ll consider what action needs to be taken in relation to that."
He said Doc staff would be out and about on opening weekend, and throughout the season, to ensure whitebaiters were complying with regulations.
Whitebaiters should visit the Doc website for the whitebaiting regulations, Mr Christie said.
Hunting & Fishing Invercargill salesman John Knowler said there had been a lot of interest in the upcoming season, and people were looking forward to a sense of normality after disruptions over the previous two.
"There’s a good vibe, the rivers look good. Some people that have been down sort of setting up their nets at their stands have seen whitebait running already, so they’re pretty excited to get in there for the weekend."
While Mr Knowler did not have his own stand to head to on opening weekend, he was planning to head out in the season and was looking forward to a few whitebait patties.
"That’s absolutely a favourite. Just like the oysters, you’ve got to have a whitebait patty every season."
By Ben Tomsett
