Northland scallop fishing: Public asked to consider if Whangārei Harbour should reopen
Whangārei Harbour could become a testing ground for a localised approach to scallop management, with the public asked whether limited scallop fishing should return after a four-year closure.
The call for feedback comes as documents released under the Official Information Act (OIA) show Fisheries New Zealand (FNZ) has been exploring whether productive scallop beds could be managed separately from more depleted areas of the wider Northland fishery.
The consultation is also being launched while a High Court judge is yet to release a decision in a judicial review brought last year by Whangārei lawyer Michael Badham, who challenged the harbour’s inclusion in the wider Northland scallop closure.
Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones said a new survey indicated scallop levels within the harbour might support a limited recreational fishery.
Badham described the proposal as “very positive” and “encouraging”. He said he had spent much of the past year working with FNZ to get additional information about scallop stocks in front of decision-makers and was encouraged to see the issue was getting serious consideration.
While the court decision was pending, Badham said his focus was not on being proven right but on finding a sustainable way to reopen the harbour.
Badham said he did not view the consultation as vindication, noting the closure had been imposed under the previous Government.
“I’m just focused on the objective, and my objective is to get the Whangārei Harbour open for the recreational gathering of scallops on reasonable terms and conditions.”
A reopening of the harbour could largely resolve the dispute that led to the judicial review, and if it happened, he would likely seek an end to the proceedings.
FNZ is seeking feedback on three proposals:
- Retain the current closure until wider management approaches are finalised for the Northland (SCA 1) and Hauraki Gulf and Coromandel (SCA CS) scallop fisheries.
- Allow a limited recreational scallop fishing season this spring or summer in Whangārei Harbour, supported by a prohibition on dredging.
- Allow ongoing seasonal recreational scallop fishing every year from spring 2027 or summer 2028, supported by changes to fishing rules.
Badham said that while he would like to see scallops back on the menu in time for Christmas, he favoured the third option because it would give FNZ more time to develop management rules and implement a ban on recreational dredging.
He described the ban proposal as “brilliant” because of the highly destructive nature of dredging on scallop habitat.
He said he would also support a shorter scallop season and lower bag limits while FNZ assessed how beds responded to reopening.
The dredging proposal reflects management options FNZ has been considering. OIA documents released to the Northern Advocate show officials discussed Whangārei scallops with Patuharakeke representatives while exploring more localised fishery management.
The documents show FNZ identified Whangārei’s inner harbour as performing better than other surveyed Northland areas and was considering “finer scale spatial management”, including treating smaller areas as separate stocks, protecting key spawning and recruitment beds, and restricting dredging in some locations.
Feedback is also being sought on changes to create bespoke rules for the long-term management of scallops within Whangārei Harbour.
“This would make it faster to implement changes in the future when new information becomes available and following public consultation,” Jones said.
He confirmed scallops could become a candidate for localised management, describing Whangārei Harbour as the place where Fisheries New Zealand should “dip our toe in the water” first.
He said he had also received requests for a localised approach in other parts of Northland, including off Tokerau Beach, but believed Whangārei Harbour was the appropriate place to test the idea.
Whangārei Harbour has supported kaimoana gathering for generations. It is part of the Northland scallop fishery (SCA 1), which was closed to scallop fishing in 2022.
Badham said he supported managing Whangārei Harbour separately from the wider fishery.
“You don’t have to wait for the entire Northland coast and Coromandel scallop stocks to recover to a sustainable supply if the Whangārei Harbour has a sustainable supply, it’s just a question of how you manage it,” he said.
He said managing productive areas separately meant there was “an incentive to do better”.
“In my mind, it’s a critical part of the Northland culture to be able to gather kaimoana as long as there is a sustainable supply ... I’m a grandfather, and I’ve got eight grandchildren, and I would like to be taking them out and educating them on how to dive for scallops or crayfish or to catch fish – it’s a generational thing.”
Jones said the new survey information was in line with reports from locals that they were seeing good numbers of scallops in the harbour and was consistent with 2024 surveys of two of the main scallop beds.
At the time of the closure, there was evidence of scallops in the harbour, Jones said. However, as a precaution, scallop harvesting was prohibited throughout SCA 1, where there was evidence of sustainability issues.
More information, including how to make a submission, can be found on the MPI website. The public has until September 18 at 5pm to make submissions.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ journalism experience, much of it court reporting in Gisborne.