“WHITEBAIT”

Whitebaiters prepare for new season

By PHIL MCCARTHY - The Southland Times | Friday, 10 August 2007

NET PROFIT: Southern Net Service owner William Boniface (right) and
Bill van der Schuit are flat out repairing old nets and making new ones
for the whitebaiting season, which starts on Wednesday.
— JOHN HAWKINS/The Southland Times

Can you feel it? The tension in the air is palpable as whitebaiters throughout the south start to fantasise about serenading their tastebuds with the delicacy when the annual season starts on Wednesday.

Actually, it's the calm before the storm at the moment as canny 'baiters size up their favourite possies on rivers such as the Aparima and Mataura in Southland or further north on the likes of the Taieri and secret spots in Central Otago.

Southern Net Service owner William Boniface said that as usual he was flat out with people servicing their nets at the last minute.

"It drives me nuts." A large part of his work involved selling new gear, but he did repairs for whitebaiters throughout the country. He was one of just two specialist repairers in the South Island, he said.

The other specialist repairer was in Amberley in North Canterbury.

Mr Boniface, who fishes on the Titiroa Stream and the Mataura, said there had been reports of a few dribbles of whitebait in southern waters in the past few weeks.

Southland Whitebaiters Association president Graham Gough said all the usual keen people would be hoping that high winds stayed away so that fishing conditions would be good.

The Agriculture and Forestry Ministry is urging whitebaiters to "check, clean and dry" their equipment to protect waterways from didymo.

Ministry spokesman Jeff Donaldson said all waterways should be treated as if they were infected with the non-indigenous alga.

MAF recommends that nets and other absorbent materials be decontaminated by soaking them in a 5 percent solution of dishwashing liquid or nappy cleaner until thoroughly saturated.

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