Media release from Eastern Fish & Game

Spear siezed on trout stream

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A fisherman who thought he’d fish for trout with a home-made spear, instead found himself at the sharp end of Fish & Game’s enforcement. Eastern Fish & Game Officer Anthony van Dorp says the incident was one of three reports that rangers responded to last weekend across the Eastern Fish & Game Region, as people phoned in to report suspected poaching. The first turnout was to a vehicle parked near a stream closed over the spawning season. The next was to a report of illegal fishing in the Ohau Channel. In the last of the callouts, to the upper Waiteti Stream, an area of closed waters, the spear was seized. Mr van Dorp says the weapon was seized without incident, but Fish & Game consider it a serious matter to find someone with a spear near a stream closed to protect spawning trout. “The rules are in place to protect spawning trout and their habitat and it's pleasing to receive such calls from the public.” Over the spawning season Fish & Game officers have kept a close eye on spawning streams, which has included using the latest camouflaged ‘poacher cams’ hidden in the bush.

ENDS

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