For several years now, Fisheries New Zealand has been at the Hutchwilco Boat Show in Epsom connecting with fishers and the public about local fisheries, the recreational fishing rules, how people can play their part in keeping their fishery healthy for future generations, and much more.
We were there again this year, and the turnout was superb. More than 32,000 people visited the show and a fair few of them stopped by to talk with our fisheries staff and Fishery Officers.
It’s great to see so many people visiting our stand and the breadth of questions they had about New Zealand’s fisheries, says Senior Fisheries Analyst, Marty Bowers.
“We get a lot of repeat visitors year on year and plenty of new ones who are starting out as recreational fishers, or people just wanting to know more about how it all works,” says Marty.
“The show is also a good opportunity for keen anglers to get new fish rulers and to brush up on any new rule changes, discuss fisheries management matters, and find out about how they can get the latest news and info from Fisheries New Zealand.
“We always encourage people to download the free NZ Fishing Rules App so they can have the latest rules in their pocket. Once downloaded, the App will work even when there’s no mobile phone coverage – it makes sense to have it. Another way to keep on top of what’s happening in your local fishery is to subscribe to our recreational fisheries mailing list.
“This year, we were pleased to be invited to help out with the first ever ‘Two Hooked’ fishing competition. The competition has fishing pairs from all over New Zealand battling it out for the title of ‘Ultimate Fishing Pair of The Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show’. We prepared a few tricky fish identification tasks for the contestants, and we were impressed with the answers people came up with.”
Connecting with us:
- Subscribe to the recreational fisheries mailing list to get information directly from us about a range of fisheries topics for your local area.
- Keep on top of the rules by downloading the free NZ Fishing Rules App from wherever you get your apps, and turn on ‘updates’ so you always have the latest version.
- Follow us on Facebook. Look for our regional fisheries pages by searching ‘MPI – Fisheries’ on Facebook. We’ve recently launched a new Facebook page for the Auckland region so if you’re heading that way or if it’s your local area, follow us.
- For more information, visit our website www.mpi.govt.nz/rules
