COD WAS WILLING

YAY! Sense over silliness. . Cod is great. Cod is love, and Cod can be caught in Marlborough Sounds again. Well done Phil Heatley. Trust in the community. They will do whats best.

A victory for good sense and community responsibility

ON THE SAFE SIDE

Well, we have the start of what appears to be a decline in blue cod stocks in Southland but some fishermen are upbeat about the state of the flatfish stocks. Flatfish took a hammering a few years back and as a result the quota was cut considerably. Its estimated that the flat fish Total Allowable catch is worth about the same as Blue Cod - $35million.

However, while fishermen in Riverton think that a couple of good years means that the quota should be up for review, a fishermen for whom we have enormous respect, John Young (aka Bunyion) isnt so sure. He is happy to take a wait and see approach. We agree. Its takes a good five years to work out any meaningful patterns in stock rebuilds.

And if there is an increase in numbers of fish and the quality is right up there - then dig in. flat fish from the deep south especially the big meaty flounders and brill, are significantly better eating than the insipid almost translucent tiny flounders often served in in Wellington fish shops.

And the best way to eat flounder? On the bone. Dusted with season flour, pan fried in butter and served with a beurre blanc.

And wine? A nice dry reisling - Johners would do nicely.

NEW ZEALANDS BEST FISH UNDER THREAT?

Cod help us - the most delicious fish in the country is in a parlous state.

Blue cod is one of our favourites - and we admit to loving the heads more than the fillets. Our favourite boil up - bar none. Just a few shallots, pepper and salt and boil or steam. Eat, lay, sigh.

It is a staple of the Southland diet and just as Bluff oysters taste better than the same species grown in Nelson, the Southern deep cold sea Blue cod tastes better than cod from anywhere else apart probably from the Chathams.

We use to go commercial blue cod fishing for three or four days every month with our previous partner.

Its a tough fishery, hard demanding and often boring. And its prone to serial depletion. That is the fishermen go where its easiest to catch the fish and they can get fished out quickly.

However there could be a goods reason that the catches are down

The total allowable commercial catch for BCO 5 is set at about 1500 tonnes, fetching more than $35 million when the quota is filled, but Mr Carbines said 300 tonnes less than that was caught on average during the past three years.

"... We can safely say we have concerns for the fishery," he said.

If there is a good year for lobster, those lobster fishermen who hold Blue cod quote dont bother fishing it. And there have been some bloody good years for the lobster fishermen.

We applaud the BCO5 fishermen and the government for engaging in a longish term four year study to find out the true state of the fishery.

And as for the best way to eat Blue Cod ? Sashimi or lightly pan fried in butter with just a smidgeon of tarragon.

Its also excellent in a tempura batter.

And the wine? Olssens Pinot Gris. Its layers of stone fruit lift the ozone out of our country's greatest tasting fish.

BIRDS OF A DIFFERENT FEATHER

During the past two weeks in the bay of a little muttonbird island at the entrance of Pegasus Harbour on the south east Coast of Stewart Island, we managed to get a few hours dingy fishing with a green line. We caught a few trumpter and a few more blue cod. But the biggest joy proved to be the mollymawks, as we know them, who sat about three feet from the dinghy waiting patiently for us to dong bony kelpie fish on the head and sling them overboard. The three or four birds that tracked the dinghy argued and scrapped over the titbits. But at the closing of the day, with drops of sea water on their silken feathers, the dying sun amplified the majestic beauty of the birds

COD BE WILLING

We think this is an inspired move by the Minister of Fisheries. Phil Heatley. Previous Minister Jim Anderton was captured by his officials and put in a blanket ban on blue cod, a moved that stunned the seafood sector.
Heatley has been willing to listen to the well reasoned arguments of both the recreational fishermen and others who have convinced him the ban was a crock. However Heatley is a smart bugger . He is obviously ensuring that the recreationalists are a little bit more engaged in the management of the blue cod fishery.

A group of local stakeholders has been working with the Ministry of Fisheries on a management plan that will rebuild the fishery while allowing for a managed recreational harvest.

“Advice from the group tells me good progress has been made towards a possible partial or full reopening of the fishery in the 2010/11 summer season,” Mr Heatley said.

New scientific research is under way that will inform the decision on when and how to reopen the fishery.

As announced in March, the Blue Cod Management Group is working toward delivering a plan that:

• will see the fishery opening sooner than the four years, either wholly or partially;
• is easy for fishers to understand, and practical for them to use;
• is straight forward for Ministry of Fisheries officers to police;
• requires some form of recreational catch reporting, so success can be monitored.

Its a good example of all interests working together for a common goal. And its the last point that is a quantum leap forward by recreational interests - catch reporting. Good data means good management.

Well done him. The recreational sector is well over due to take more responsibility for fisheries management . For too long it has been all take no responsibility.