CoroLife 60P 15SPR FIN-LR-redWLinksREV3

17 / 60

The teiche boat tends Mercury Bay’s
boxnet during the 1970s .
During the 1970s, a controversial fishing
method was used in Mercury Bay. Owned by a
NZ company but supported by a Japanese one,
a teiche, or boxnet was scientifically designed
taking into account such factors as currents
and water temperatures. It was located first in
Sandy Bay on the northern shores of Mercury
Bay, then later off Hot Water Beach. This huge
fish trap was permanently fixed to the sea floor.
The fish first encountered a long side net which
forced them to swim into the main net. Once
inside, the fish could be moved into smaller
detachable holding nets awaiting processing.
While very efficient, this net had the
disadvantage of trapping any species, not just
the mackerel and other pelagic species* desired.
Because of this, it was subject to considerable
protest and at times, acts of vandalism. By
1980, environmental and economic factors
led to its removal. A very interesting model of
the teiche net, built from the original working
drawings, is on display in the museum.
LONGLINING FOR TUNA AND SNAPPER
A significant amount of the activity around the
wharf centres on snapper longlining boats.
Snapper caught on longlines are significantly
higher value fish in world markets, as the fish
are caught alive before being ‘ikiid’ (spiked)
and are not crushed in a net. Most fish caught
this way end up in international markets. The
occasional tuna longliner will also be seen.
These larger boats venture much further afield
and set lines up to 30 miles in length, floating
on the surface. Targetted species are high
value tuna and other pelagic fish. Many a tuna
fisherman dreams of that very rare extra high
quality catch that can fetch up to $100,000 for
a single fish in the Tokyo fish market.
Long lines set with
multiple baited lines
suspended from them.
17
It’s well worth visiting the
Whitianga wharf in the evening.
A few fishers seeking that elusive
catch wait patiently, tourists
hurry for the ferry, and trucks line
up waiting for the commercial
fishing boats to arrive and unload
their catch. Depending on the
season, there will be snapper
longliners, scallop and crayfish
boats, and maybe even a tuna
longliner, for Mercury Bay has long
been the home port for a fleet of
commercial fishing boats.
by Dick Wilson
Mercury Bay Museum...
Those few museums worldwide that feature fishing displays tend to
concentrate on the recreational side. The award winning Mercury
Bay Museum’s display is unusual in that it also features displays on
commercial fishing showing some of the methods of catching fish
for the market employed in past years as well as the present.
Mercury Bay Museum’s extensive fishing display features:
•Game fishing past and present
•Fascinating glimpses of recreational fishing highlights
•Traditional Maori fishing methods
•Commercial fishing techniques
•World leading systems of managing New Zealand’s fish stocks
•Local, national, and international fishing identities
Read about the museum’s recreational fishing exhibit here:
2013 Museums
Aotearoa Awards
The museum received
a Project Achievement
Award for ‘outstanding
new exhibition in a
small museum’.
Photo left: Whitianga based tuna longlining fishing vessel Garraway , skippered by Laurie
Hill, tries a spell of bottom fishing for bluenose, a much sought after species found only
in deep water. Sea conditions such as as these would deter virtually any recreational
fisherman, but it’s all in a day’s work for those making a living at sea. (Photo by Mike Wilson
from the early 1990s.)
Exhibits honour
our region’s
fishing heritage
* WHAT IS A PELAGIC FISH?
These are found in open waters. Some species
are found over the continental shelf, while others
prefer deeper waters. Pelagic fish such as sardines,
tuna, and mackerel usually swim in large schools.
Bottom feeding and reef fish are not pelagic.