By this time, East Coromandel`s once thriving commercial scallop fleet had gone from a peak of 23 boats to just four. “The government has done nothing. So we took matters into our own hands,” says Davis. Snappers sometimes have scallops in their stomachs, crushed by their powerful jaws in the shell. Some people also add an orange trout fly to their line, above the bait, which could trigger an association with the orange eggs of the scallops. The fly can slide down via a vortex or be attached to the end of a short track attached to a vortex, allowing more movement in the flow. In extreme cases, a boat may expire. Occasionally, scallops wash ashore during a storm and can be picked up, but the rules regarding size and number still apply. One trick is to mark the track, which is usually about 100 m long, on the GPS tracker and, if there are scallops, pass over the same markers or a line next to them. Modern dredges are designed to float to the surface when a plastic container is attached and flow along the line, making it easy to remove.
When Davis was a child, he saw thousands of scallops washed up along the shores after major storms. “This donation allowed us to pick up scallops by hand on the beaches and feed the seabirds.” The opening of the scallop season is historically a day of celebration, spring is here and the days are getting longer. This year, it`s more sobering. Restrictions on scallop harvesting mean that scallops are virtually inaccessible to most kiwis. Many fishermen in these areas have reported that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find scallops. Trish Rea, fisheries management advocate at LegaSea, who has collected scallops throughout her adult life and witnessed their decline, says one thing is clear. “We can no longer manage our scallops the same way and expect a different outcome.” In retrospect, the region was the canary in the coal mine and foreshadowed what was to come for other regions. The same fate has happened to almost every scallop school in New Zealand, including places where sedimentation is a problem and places like offshore islands where it is not. For the people of Whitianga and the high East Coast, scallops are not only a delicacy, they are the source of many tourist activities and income.
Scallop beds were once so plentiful that tourists came from all over to harvest during the open season, an annual scallop festival was held, and the scallop stands proudly on many logos. The commercial industry flourished, and some fish shops sold scallops exclusively. Daily catch and legal size restrictions for scallops and oysters depend on the area you are in. It is important to check the rules in your area every time you go fishing. Keep in mind that if you eat shellfish caught during your trip, you will also need to count them into your daily catch limit. Our regional Facebook pages keep you informed about fishing rules and how we manage and protect local fisheries: For most of the country, scallop season began on July 15, but in the upper half of the North Island, it began on September 1. The delay is intended to give sensitive shellfish more time to get back into shape after the cold winter. When dredging scallops, anyone who takes a quota must be involved in the operation by helping with the ropes or sorting and counting the catch.
The closures follow a 50% reduction in total allowable commercial catches (TAACs) in the Coromandel scallop fishery in 2016. The TACC for the Northland scallop fishery was reduced by 75% in 2020. “For this to continue, scallop beds need time to recover. I have instructed my officials to monitor the progress of these fisheries for future decisions. As New Zealand has no existing scallop infrastructure, scallops are grown with net “lanterns” suspended from shellfish aquaculture lines suspended between floats. “We usually go out once a month to run the scallops through the different nets, put them in clean nets and assess their health, measure them and things like that.” To stay safe on the water and protect the sustainability of New Zealand scallops and oysters, retailers such as Bunsco have been confirmed in their decision not to sell scallop dredges. It also gave people like Hunting & Fishing and Marine Deals the confidence to stop selling excavators. Ngāti Hei kaumātua Joe Davis says the Ngāti Hei have relied on shellfish species as a central part of their diet and trade for generations. Their rawness was rich in crustaceans, so much so that their main method of collecting scallops was to wait on the beach for dishes, which was considered a gift from the Maori sea god Tangaroa. In contrast, scientist Chris Cornelison, also of the Cawthron Institute, raised concerns last year about dredging, the only way to harvest scallops commercially in New Zealand.
While there are many ways to cook scallops, from a layer of breadcrumbs to a mornay sauce, fresh scallops are hard to beat when simply cooked in a little oil and butter in a hot pan with salt and pepper. Fry each side for one to two minutes, depending on the heat, and do not overcook. The center of the muscle should always be translucent when done. In 2018, the entire Kaipara harbour was finally closed for scallop removal after researchers found only one healthy bed after dredging in the area since about 1960. Such a bounty was once a common sight on the eastern coast of Coromandel. But Davis` local Kūaotunu beach hasn`t been washed in at least 10 years. He says Fisheries New Zealand, the ministry responsible for commercial fisheries in New Zealand, ignored Coromandel communities for years, until 2021, who asked politicians and officials to take action and protect their local scallop shoals. Fast forward as momentum continued to accelerate. Supported by the community, Ngati Hei placed a rahui on all of their raw moana in the Coromandel and encouraged people to stop taking scallops. Very popular, this later became a regulation and a temporary closure for two years.
Today, September 1, is the first day of the scallop harvest season. But New Zealanders feasting on fresh scallops this season will likely eat them in one of only two main beds still open on mainland New Zealand, in Auckland`s Hauraki Gulf. It is forbidden to wade in shallow water and collect scallops out of season. Scallops can be found all along the coast and in Auckland in Manukau and Kaipara harbours. Three years ago, at the annual general meeting of the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council, club delegates from across the country agreed that scallop dredging was a destructive fishing technique and adopted a progressive policy encouraging members to stop using scallop dredges in protected waters. These efforts to minimize our collective impact on the marine environment have led to a rather unexpected sequence of events. On the east coast, there are schools of scallops off The Noises, Rakino Island and outside Waiheke Island, in the Firth of Thames and directly across the Bay of Plenty. When dredging, it is important to adjust the size of the excavator to the size of the boat, as a large excavator can pull the stern of a small boat underwater if it gets stuck on an obstacle on the seabed.