Scallop season opens in Marlborough Sounds, Tasman and Golden Bays. Ministry of Fisheries Field Operations Manager Geoff Clark is calling on scallop fishers to follow the fishing rules and keep an eye out for scallops carrying research tags when they go fishing. Clark said that fishers need to make sure they know the bag limits, size limits and seasons before they go scalloping.
Clark informed that the minimum legal size for scallops in the Challenger area is 90mm measured across the widest part of the shell. The legal bag limit for scallops is 50 per fisher per day. In addition, divers are entitled to take an extra daily bag for each of up to two safety people on board a boat – provided they are acting as safety people for the divers.
Clark explained that fisher are allowed to take what they need, fish for a feed and not to fill the freezer. The bag limits are set to make sure there will be scallops around to catch in future years, says Clark. The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) are carrying out research for the Ministry of Fisheries looking into scallop growth rates and productivity. 9000 tags have been placed on scallops in several areas around the country, including Golden Bay, Tasman Bay and the Marlborough Sounds.
