Over the past few months nzfishing.com has been investigating and seeking feedback on a number of issues that affect freshwater fishing in New Zealand. This has been done through newsletters where we request feedback; talks at clubs around the country and through direct contact with individuals and organisations such as Fish and Game.

By far the biggest concern of anglers (and other related outdoor users) is the loss of access to rivers and lakes.

So far I have been able to identify that there are access issues on the following rivers and lakes. I also know that this is only the tip of the iceberg as it really only deals with the areas visited mostly around the Central North Island.

• The upper reaches of the Whakapapa River
• Sections of the Whanganui
• Waipunga River
• Retaruke River
• Ongarue River
• Waimiha River
• Tukituki River
• Mohaka River
• Waiteti River
• Ngongotaha River
• Buller River near Murchison
• Rangitikei River
• Rangitaiki River
• Lake Rotomahana
• Wheao River
• Wheao canal
• Flaxy Lakes
• Deep Creek near Reporoa
• Akatarawa River
• Mangaroa River
• Waiwawa river near Whitianga

The reasons given for the denial of access are many and include:

• It is private land and therefore not open for others to move across (this often applies to small sections of a river where the owner may have , or think they have, riparian rights)
• Using the above argument the access to the river i.e. the right to cross a property to access a river of lake or the right to move up or downstream along a section of a river or lake, has been sold to a guide or other operator and the trespass law is used to keep others from the fishing water. This is happening more and more on the major fishing waters and includes such waters as the Whakapapa and Rangitikei Rivers
• Again using the private land argument farmers have stated that they regard the river that runs through their property as their own to use as they wish. On a section of Deep Creek a farmer told me I could not access his land as the river was for the exclusive use of him and his family and they did not want others fishing their water (even though the farmer downstream had given permission and said we could move up stream as far as we wished).

A good case study is the Rangitaiki River which has been closed in the Kaingaroa Forest area for the entire season. Not only does this deny access to one of the major rivers in the North Island it also means anglers and others cannot get access to the Flaxy Lakes, the Wheao River and Wheao Canals and other small tributary rivers in the area. It also affects Lake Rotomahana where presently there is no access to the lake for anglers (or other recreational users).

To underline the importance and significance of this fishery it should be noted that this was the venue for the 1991 World Fly Fishing Championships.

Background
Since the start of the fishing season forest access to the Kaingaroa land and rivers has been denied to everyone. The land is owned by the new Central North Island Iwi Collective (CNIIC), the trees within the forest are owned by Harvard Investments (70% ownership) and the NZ Superannuation fund (30% ownership) and the forest block / trees are administered by a private company, Timberlands Limited.

The land owners, CNIIC, have made it clear that under the Deed of Settlement for the CNI forest lands, the responsibility for more-than-foot access is at the discretion of the licensees, Timberlands Limited. In the last few days the licensee, Timberlands Ltd, has released to Fish and Game the following statement:

Public Vehicle Access for hunting and fishing in Kaingaroa and associated Forests.

In the past the public has had access to the privately owned Kaingaroa, Whirinaki, Horohoro and Rotoehu forests by vehicle for the purpose of hunting and fishing. This access has been managed by, and at the discretion of, the forest owner, the licensee, who has balanced forest management and asset protection while allowing the public to access the forest for hunting and fishing.

With the recent changes to the ownership of the underlying land access for non-forestry purposes requires the agreement of both the landowner, Central North Island Iwi Collective, and the licensee. The landowner has said it is happy for public vehicle access for hunting and fishing to continue.

Subject to management and protection of its forest asset the licensee is also comfortable for access to continue. Vehicle access will continue to be managed through a permit system and individuals will need to show they have the relevant driving, firearms, fishing and game licenses, as well as an appropriate level of public liability and fire suppression insurance.

The licensee has an obligation to protect its forest assets and the people who work and recreate in the forest. This means that there are restrictions on when the public can access the forest. The main restrictions relate to fire danger, health and safety and criminal activity. To mitigate these risks public access is restricted to;
1. Weekends only
2. Daylight hours only
3. Limited access during the fire season.

The public will be able to obtain an access permit covering the whole non-fire season. In a normal year this permit will allow access from 1 May to 30 September. This permit will not cover access during the fire season and is for weekend and daylight hours only.

During the fire season, usually 1 October to 30 April, access will be restricted in periods of elevated fire risk. In a normal year we would expect access restrictions during the months of December to March. During dry summers the restrictions could be longer and in a wet summer shorter. Permits issued during the fire season will only be valid for one weekend.

It is possible there will be a charge for public access permits to cover administration costs.

Timberlands Limited

The following is a statement by Rob Pitkethley, the manager of the Eastern region Fish and Game which administers the Rangitaiki River.

"Timberlands will be distributing a press release very soon to let the wider public know how they intend to manage access from now on. They have clearly stated that vehicle access is at their discretion and while the status quo will apply for game bird hunters, anglers will note that the new conditions are now more restrictive than they were in the pre-settlement situation. Timberlands have decided that due to safety concerns all recreational users should be bound by the same weekend only conditions.

There has also been no mention of the future of Te Awa campground. At this stage I am happy that the clear intent has been shown that access will be reinstated. I have been told that if fire levels drop and look to stay down then anglers will be permitted into the forest before the fire season ends on 30 April. Unfortunately Timberlands have not clarified what they consider to be the threshold for an "elevated" fire risk.

They have also not yet decided when a charge for permit administration might come into effect, or how much this might be. We are continuing to work on finding public liability insurance cover for anglers and hunters and how we may be able to facilitate this for licence holders wanting to enjoy the forest. Given that it looks like anglers and hunters will be able to practicably use the forest for recreation my feeling is we should look to make sure the system becomes operational before investigating further possibilities to resolve some of the outstanding issues."

While this recent statement from Timberlands does give some cause for hope that the issue will be resolved, there are many areas of concern that need to be addressed. These include:

• Why is access restricted to weekends only? Safety is the reason given by Timberlands but if they are concerned about tree – felling, large trucks and machinery on tracks etc why not make the areas where such activity is happening known to anglers when they apply for the permit to enter the forest?
• Why is the camping ground at Te Awa not mentioned. This is a huge area of river and traditionally anglers have been able to camp where there are toilet facilities at the Te Awa campsite. It should be noted that the toilets etc that have been there have been removed and replaced with a single toilet facility – does this mean that camping will in future be denied to anglers even though the camp ground is on the marginal strip that runs along both banks of the river?
• How can Timberlands stop people camping next to the river when there is a clearly defined DoC administered marginal strip? Other forest areas around the country allow camping (with appropriate fire restrictions where required).
• How is the fire risk to be identified and at what level will it become enforced to keep anglers out of the area? When the risk is extreme (which anglers to date have accepted as a time they cannot access the river) or at a much lower level of risk e.g. "High".
• When will the permit system be up and operating? It is now moving towards the end of the angling season and towards the beginning of the wing-shooting season and it must be noted that around 25% of all the North Island pheasant shooting takes place in the area covered by Kaingaroa.