The recreational season for gathering scallops in the Auckland and Kermadec Fishery Management Area, which includes Northland, the Hauraki Gulf, Waikato, the Bay of Plenty and the west coast as far south as Tirua Point, starts on 1 September and runs to 31 March 2011. Kaipara Harbour will also be open for scallop gathering from tomorrow.
Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Phil Heatley is calling upon the fishers to make sure they know bag limits, size limits and seasons before they go fishing. Information revealed that the minimum legal size for scallops in the Auckland and Kermadec area is 100 millimetres measured across the widest part of the shell. The legal bag limit for scallops is 20 per fisher per day.
Maintaining rules is very important as taking undersized scallops could affect the fishery by reducing the amount of spawning and the number of small scallops growing into the fishery, explained Heatley. He informed that the fishing officers will be patrolling the beaches and inspecting scallop catches. Fines of $250 to $500 per offence can be imposed on fishers who ignore the rules. The Ministry of Fisheries has advised there is no known link between sea slugs and scallops. While Auckland Regional Public Health Service advises people against collecting shellfish from urban beaches due to general issues of contamination, it does not regard scallop gathering as a high-risk activity because scallops are generally found in deeper water further offshore.
