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“WHITEBAIT”

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Kiwithrottlejockey
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« on: April 03, 2009, 02:34:08 pm »


Armed squad called out after shots fired in Westport

The Press | Thursday, 02 November 2006

A dispute over a whitebaiting position sparked a police armed offenders squad (AOS) callout near Westport today and the arrest of a local man.

Detective Constable John Cunneen told NZPA an airgun was fired several times at a group of whitebaiters at Deadman's Creek, about 5km north of Westport, about 9.30am.

No one was injured.

AOS members from the West Coast and Nelson surrounded a house in Utopia Rd and a man was arrested without incident about 2pm.

Mr Cunneen said the man was unaware police had been called and co-operated fully once he was asked to leave the house.

It appeared to be a dispute about a whitebaiting position after an argument between several whitebaiters at the creek yesterday.

"One party says it's a dispute about whitebait," Mr Cunneen said. "The other party has a different view of matters."

A 42-year-old local man was charged with carelessly using a firearm and was bailed to appear in Westport District Court on 23 November.


http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3848368a11,00.html



West Coast whitebait war turns nasty

By SANDRA COX and MIKE STEERE - The Press | Friday, 03 November 2006

ON GUARD: An armed policeman closes Utopia Road, in Westport, during the Armed Offenders Squad callout yesterday. Westport News.

ON GUARD: An armed policeman closes Utopia Road,
in Westport, during the Armed Offenders Squad
callout yesterday. — Westport News


Potentially deadly arguments are erupting over the West Coast's lucrative whitebait, prompting police to call for calm.

Tensions erupted between rival whitebaiters yesterday when a man fired lead pellets at fishermen at Deadmans Creek, 6km north of Westport.

The shots prompted an Armed Offenders Squad callout. A 42-year-old Westport mechanic was arrested and charged with careless use of an airgun. He surrendered when police arrived at his house.

The man had allegedly fired shots at the fishermen as they set up nets.

No-one was injured.

Police said the incident was related to an old feud over a whitebaiting site on the creek.

The allure of whitebait has grown as it reaches up to $140 a kilogram in supermarkets. Many fishermen also sell the delicacy under the table, avoiding tax.

While some fishermen have permits for stands that have been in their families for generations, others claim particular spots.

Acting Sergeant Greg Goessi, of the Westport police, said that on waterways north of Westport, police this season had received at least six reports of whitebaiters threatening violence against other fishermen, damage to stands, and stolen fishing equipment.

Goessi said some fishermen were semi-professional, relying on the income for the whole year.

"It's a very big deal for them if the season is poor," he said.

Whitebaiting was attractive to beneficiaries, and some people pulled their children out of school to catch the tiny fish.

"When there's money involved, it brings out the worst in people."

Many whitebaiters thought they owned the fishery and needed an attitude change, Goessi said.

"People think, my grandmother fished here, I fished here, this is my piece of river. Well, it's not."

The Department of Conservation (DOC) was under-resourced for policing "so people take it into their own hands and sort matters out", Goessi said.

"The comments I get from locals is that these people are out-of-towners and who do they think they are coming here?"

Buller Mayor Martin Sawyers said the airgun incident highlighted concerns over whitebaiting's commercial side.

"Whitebait is wonderful and has some great cultural connotations, but once you have a commercial aspect to it, it sometimes brings out the bad side in people's nature," Sawyers said.

"Once you involve money it does attract some people it shouldn't."

Yesterday's incident was a one-off and would not harm the image of whitebaiting or the West Coast, he said.

"Most seasons the worst it gets is a punch-up on the banks of a river."

West Coast whitebaiters are no strangers to waterside disputes, with many reported in recent seasons.

In 2003, the Grey District Council considered strict regulations after riverside scraps over top whitebaiting positions on the Grey River and alleged threats of retaliation from Christchurch gang members.

Christchurch resident Darren Branson had experience of whitebaiter aggression two years ago when a hut he and his friend built on a South Westland river was burned down.

Branson was setting up a spot pre-season at the Waiatoto River, south of Haast.

"We must have upset some of the locals," he said. "The police were involved, but no-one was ever caught. I haven't been back since."

Compared to whitebaiters in Canterbury, whitebaiters in the West Coast were more competitive.

"They can make a lot of money and they get pretty stroppy if you take their spot."

Hokitika's Brent Robinson, whose family has owned two whitebaiting stands through three generations, said permanent stand-holders were not causing problems.

Most disputes arose around spaces that were not registered, he said.

"With registered sites, you are the only one that can fish there."

Non-registered sites, however, were"fair game" for fishermen.

Most residents and registered site owners were friendly and it was when people came from other rivers that tensions arose, Robinson said.

West Coast DOC spokesman Ian Gill said it had not made a prosecution this season for people breaking whitebaiting rules.

In Canterbury, whitebaiters have been at loggerheads with the Waimakariri District Council over access to the Ashley River.


http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3848635a11,00.html
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