Newsletter July 2024

One of our key goals at Fish & Game is strengthening our relationships with politicians from all parties and our stakeholders to raise awareness about what we do.

So it was my pleasure to join Greg Duley and NZ Hunter to host Courts and Associate Justice (Firearms) Minister Nicole McKee, Rangitata MP James Meager and the Game Animal Council’s general manager Tim Gale at Lake Ellesmere Te Waihora for a weekend’s game bird hunt.

For Minister McKee, it was her first time duck hunting as she usually targets big game.

She was a sharp shot, but that wasn’t surprising given she has competed in multiple shooting disciplines and has held the national shooting title for the Dick Travis VC .303 Target Rifle twice and was the NZ Service Rifle Association Bolt Action Champion four times.

So she was pleased to bag the first bird of the day on Saturday morning.

On Sunday, after getting his eye in the day before at Ellesmere Clay Target Club,  it was James Meager’s turn, and he also bagged the first bird of the day.

Meager’s only other time hunting was for wallabies in South Canterbury.

Meager said the weekend was a great chance to learn more about the interplay between conservation, hunting and recreational shooting.

The team harvested 16 birds over the weekend, including mallard drakes and black swans; they also got to have a chance at some shovelers and paradise shelducks that snuck up on us.

Corina Jordan

Minister McKee taking aim

Greg Duley giving James Meager some shooting coaching. 

Tim Gale loving the chance to get out

Corina Jordan in her happy place

Elections this year

Game bird hunters and anglers encouraged to enrol ahead of Fish & Game elections

Licensed anglers and game-bird hunters are being urged to enrol so they can vote in the upcoming Fish & Game elections.

New Zealand’s 12 regional Fish & Game councils are elected by licence holders every three years and voting in the 2024 election opens on 19 September.

Licence holders must register to be on the electoral roll to be eligible to vote in their region.

Barrie Barnes, chair of Fish & Game New Zealand, is encouraging licence holders to enrol so they can have their say on who represents them.

“Fish & Game’s vision is a New Zealand where freshwater habitats and species flourish, where hunting and fishing traditions thrive and all Kiwis enjoy access to sustainable wild fish and game resources.

“If game-bird hunters and anglers share that vision, then I really urge them to make sure they are enrolled before 11 September, so they can vote.”

Fish & Game will be emailing all eligible licence holders who haven’t already enrolled. An online form has also been launched so licence holders can easily update their status to enable them to vote in the elections.

In August, Fish & Game will be seeking nominations for councillors on the 12 regional Fish & Game councils.

“Fish & Game councils are seeking nominations from licensed anglers and game bird hunters from all walks of life, particularly those with governance experience,” says Mr Barnes.

“We’re looking for the next generation of councillors to help shape the future of the sector. Every region needs dedicated and passionate New Zealanders to speak up for people who enjoy fishing and hunting in our wild places, and care about the species we manage and their habitat.

“Diversity is vital to Fish & Game New Zealand. We’re seeking Kiwis of all ages, backgrounds, and perspectives who are passionate about contributing to the angling and game bird hunting sector.

“We know angling and hunting is increasingly popular with women and we hope to see this translate into more women standing for election.

“Participating in councils is an incredibly rewarding experience. You get to learn about our valued species, their habitats and work with some incredible and talented people. You learn the ins and outs of governing a statutory organisation. You also develop your strategic leadership skills in a way that can be a useful stepping stone for your professional career.”

Fish & Game is a statutory organisation under the Conservation Act, reporting through to the Minister of Hunting and Fishing.

Nominations open on 12 August and close on 29 August at 5pm. Information about this will be online from the 12th and will include an enrolment form and candidate handbook. To be eligible to stand for election, the candidate must hold a current adult full season licence to fish
for sports fish or hunt for game.

More information on the elections can be found here or by visiting www.fishandgame.org.nz/about-us/elections-programme/

Accessible options for fishing and hunting

The fun and satisfaction of catching a good fish or a plump bird for tea should be for everyone. We're working with communities to improve access and have compiled information on existing access options for hunters and anglers who have mobility impairments:

Fishing locations

Hunting locations

Firearms submission

Fish & Game continue to advocate for anglers and game bird hunters. Recently we submitted on proposed changes to firearms legalisation which affect clubs and ranges.

In it we supported proposals to review and simplify parts of the Arms Act 1983. Hunting and shooting are popular recreational pursuits in New Zealand, especially in rural and provincial areas.  Hunting and shooting clubs and the shooting ranges many of these clubs operate are vital to the ongoing safe use of firearms in NZ. Without them there would be a huge gap in training and in places where hunters and shooters can go to sight in firearms, to practise and engage in competition shooting events. Expensive over-regulation is likely to cause the demise of many shooting clubs and ranges, but pragmatic, and reasonable regulatory requirements that are demonstrably required and fair will lead to support from the hunting and shooting communities in NZ and ultimately safer outcomes.  

Read our submission here.

These are the winners so far from our Wild your Kai competition which ran during game bird hunting season, with one draw to go and the overall winner to come. We received over 200 entries which were of incredible quality and showed what a great experience game bird hunting is for people of all walks of life.

Photo by Nigel Williams of Napier featuring his son-in-law. Enjoying a well-deserved cold one after a big day duck hunting, Nick is pictured here feeling the warmth of the fire along with tired Olive the Lab. They reported a successful day shooting, managing to harvest 15 ducks and camping out overnight for the first time!

This picture was taken by Hayden Roberts, from Leeston in Canterbury, of his daughter, Lilliana. She is pictured here looking proud of some early birds caught at a small pond near her home, with some handy assistance from Labrador Beau. A little bird told us it was it was “duck nuggets” for dinner!

Lindsay Sandri, from Te Anau, won with this picture of his daughters, Kenzie (5) and Harper (7) who are all about getting out and hunting and gathering with their dad, be it deer, pigs or waterfowl. They even helped rebuild the maimai last summer and had been begging to go for a hunt ever since!  Lindsay says it’s a challenge setting up a kids-friendly hunt but worth it. Plenty of warm clothes and hot Milos for the win!

Congratulations to our ReWild Your Kai photo competition.

Magic Moments

Michael Rickerby snapped these amazing shots while out at Lake Ellesmere for an evening duck shoot. It was the first aurora he had seen and it the second one for his father. They shared a great moment out in nature and loved every moment.

What a whopper!

Noah Hamilton Smith shared with us his once in a lifetime fish, 9.63 pounds. He caught it on the lower part of the Taieri downstream from Allanton on the infamous Berkley black and gold T-tail minnow with a mustad 1/8-ounce jig head on 6-pound fluorocarbon. He chased it across the shallow river side to side trying to get an angle to fit the beast in the net.

The lower Taieri River sometimes yields surprisingly good results. While the lower Taieri River holds resident brown trout, many from .5kg to 1kg, a significant number of large sea trout move up the river at certain times of the year and there is always the possibility of latching onto a big one.

Wild Duck with Apples and Turnips

INGREDIENTS:

4 duck breasts

2 teaspoon spice-rub of your choice

4 white globe turnips (you can use whole or halved radish, they taste just like turnips when cooked)

2 apples, wild or Granny Smiths 

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 

2 teaspoons brown sugar

100mls water

A little cooking oil

1 teaspoon corn flour

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat your oven to 180ºc

Peel and cut the small turnips into wedges, cook in a little salted water until just tender, cool and keep aside.

Wipe the duck breasts dry with kitchen paper towels, sprinkle over and pat in the spice rub, heat a pan, one that can be placed directly in the oven, add a little oil and fry the breasts until nicely coloured. Place in your oven and cook for 8 minutes turning once, add the turnips when turning to take on the roasting flavours.

Place the breasts and turnips onto a plate, cover with foil to keep warm.

Finely dice the apple and cook in the same cooking pan, stirring to include all the cooking residues, add the brown sugar, then the balsamic vinegar, add water, simmer for a couple of minutes, pour in any juices that have been released from the resting breasts. Finally stir in the cornflour that has been dissolved in a dessertspoon of water, cook to nice consistency, season to taste.

Carve the breasts crosswise into thin slices, arrange on plates along with the turnips and spoon over the sauce and apples.

Credits:
Chef: Tony Smith, Riversmiths NZ 
Photographer: Deborah Aspray 

Trustee retires after a lifetime of protecting wetlands

After 57 years out in the wild John Cheyne is home to roost after retiring as a trustee for the NZ Game Bird Habitat Trust (GBHT).

Reflecting on his years of conservation work – for which he was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2021 – John talks about work ranging from building wetlands with a digger to establishing a national threatened bird species dog programme to help locate threatened species like kakapo and kiwi for relocation to predator free sites and general research purposes.

“It’s been an absolute pleasure working with wetlands, farmers, landowners, and staff at Fish & Game, DOC and the Wildlife Service.  If it wasn’t for those organisations and other statutory agencies, wetlands would be in a sorrier state still than they are.”

He reckons that over the years he’s worked on about 150 wetlands both large and small in Hawkes Bay, Manawatu, Wairarapa, Waikato, Northland, Southland, and Otago. 

Read about his achievements here.

Corina Jordan
F&G NZC CEO