Northlanders are being encouraged to head to the water and get themselves a feed of kina as the population explodes.
New rules to curb an infestation of the prickly sea creature are in the pipeline — among them, increasing the catch limit.
Kina off the Tutakaka coast were plentiful but not healthy for commerical harvesting, according to diver Nick Boulgaris. He said the kaimoana needed to be much bigger — as they were, there’s not much inside.
"They’re not worth the effort in getting."
In 15 years as a commercial diver in Northland, he hadn't seen anything like it.
“This is a barren area we used to work bu,t once the weed was eaten… the kina wasn’t worth taking.”
The spiny sea urchin has eaten nearly all the seaweed, leaving the ocean floor so bare the kina were grazing sediment.
Caldwell Fishing, based in Whangārei, has a 16-tonne quota for the sea urchins. But he agreed the quality just wasn’t there.
"There’s no commercial value in it."
The lack of seaweed meant fish stocks were also affected.
Commercial fisherman Matt Caldwell said: “This has a flow-on effect with other species as well. Fish don’t like hanging out in areas with no weed — a lot of fish depend on kelp for food and for breeding."
The Ministry for Primary industries was proposing a two-year fishing ban at Tūtūkākā Harbour and the surrounding areas, in an effort to help grow rock lobster numbers – because rock lobsters ate kina.
The proposal also included enabling tangata whenua to manage the barren areas.
The current recreational catch limit was 50 kina per day. The Ministry for Primary Industries was considering increasing the limit, but that would be subject to public consultation in the coming months.
It’s hoped harvesting more, might help the ecosystem recover.
For more on the Northland kina, watch the video at the top of this article.
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