Will the recent closure of scallop fisheries in Northland, most of Coromandel and the Hauraki Gulf be enough for the shell fish populations to recover?
In the past nine years, scallop biomass in the Coromandel fishery, which includes the Hauraki Gulf, has declined by 77-percent, while biomass in the Northland fishery has fallen 63 percent over 14 years.
From April 1, the Fisheries Minister David Parker closed almost all the scallop fisheries in Coromandel and Northland, while two areas around Hauturu/Little Barrier Island and near the Colville Channel will remain open.
His decision has angered some critics who believe it doesn't go far enough and taking scallops from those two areas should also be banned.
Kathryn speaks with Dr James Williams, a NIWA fishery scientist who led a survey of scallop beds in the Hauraki Gulf last year, and whose findings were part of the advice to the Minister.
