Game Fishing in New Zealand from the start in about 1900 until 2017
Prologue
By John Chibnall
This brief story is about game fishing in the early days from about 1900, until 1957 when the New Zealand Big Game Fishing Council Incorporated was formed, until 2017 – sixty years this year. The Council’s fifty year book already tells much of the Council’s formation years from 1957 and then up to 2007. This article is to record the work not mentioned in that book but nevertheless should be part of Council’s history.
Adding to the Council’s fifty year book is how the Council has changed to enable it to try and look after all the recreational fishers’ interests and how sport fishing has turned into a large industry important to our nation’s economy. Some of this information was not in the fifty year book. The last ten years (2007 until now) has no history recorded yet and this article will attempt to tell of the many more changes that have been made or have been attempted to be made since 2007.
The Beginning
The sport of fishing with a rod and reel came to New Zealand from England and the United States some time with the early settlers. Fishing with rod and reel was, without doubt, being used in England and the US before the eighteen hundreds where it is recorded in many areas. The first recorded Game Fishing Club was formed in the Pacific and was the Tuna Club in Avalon on Santa Catalina Island off the coast of California in 1898 (Incorporated in 1901). Many of the IGFA & NZSFC fishing rules and regulations we still use today were created by this famous old Club which is still in existence today although showing its age from its former glory.
Fishing in England on rod and reel goes back several hundred years, when it is believed in or about 1650 the first reel was invented. This is documented in books written by T Barker and Izak Walton in the archives in England. Izak Walton’s book ‘The Complete Angler’ describes what fishing with rod and reel is all about. He is considered to be the ‘Grandfather’ of angling. There is much more information still available on game fishing in England, however, there is little information on rod and reel fishing in NZ before 1900. What is available is anecdotal, making it a bit unreliable. In those days we are sure there would have been many anglers who started fishing with a stick and fishing line on one end. There are some stories about groups of fishermen fishing for subsistence which was most likely the start of what you may call fishing clubs. There were some fishing clubs formed and operating before the 1914-18 Great World War but none were game fishing clubs, even though there was talk about them in the North.
It is well recorded the first Marlin caught on rod and reel in New Zealand was in 1915 followed by the first Shark caught a few days later.
After the 1914 -18 Great War there were a number of game fishing clubs formed from in the far north at Whangaroa down to Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty. Five of these clubs are still in existence operating successfully for their membership today and they are also the 5 founding clubs in the formation of the New Zealand Big Game Fishing Council Incorporated in 1957 now called the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council Incorporated. Long before that many clubs were being formed that never became part of the Council.
The first of these in 1918 was the Bay of Islands Kingfish Club Inc. This club was operating well for six years and then was abandoned in 1924 for a new club called the Bay of Islands Swordfish and Mako Shark Club. The entire Kingfish Club’s funds and effects were transferred to the new club along with most of the executive including the President and the Secretary taking these positions in the new club. It took many years to find out why this change was made, and it turned out the Kingfish Club was a registered Incorporated Society making it a non profit organisation. As the Club was formed by Charter Boat Captains and Hoteliers in Russell for personal business reasons, this is not allowed with Incorporated Societies so the new club was never incorporated until it joined the Council in 1957 even though it still operated as if it were, with a constitution, still voting in their executive each year, keeping records of their membership, the business of the club, recording their daily catch, and producing Minutes of their meetings and operation.
The First BOI Swordfish club
Most of the old and not so old Clubs will have history about their early beginnings that should be kept on record so the new members joining will know the strength of their clubs background. In those days most of the old clubs were formed in or about the 1920’s. From the Councils history many new clubs don’t last as long as they were originally planned for more than one reason. Forming a new Club needs to be well planned and taken seriously. There is a great saying “if you don’t know where you have been you will not know where to go in the future”. History is important.
One the most interesting pieces of history of NZ Game Fishing is when Zane Grey came to NZ in 1925. Many thought he was just on one of his adventures, but in reality he was invited by another famous New Zealand angler called C. (Charles) Alma Baker who was a wealthy mine owner and rubber grower. In those days rubber came from the sap of trees in the tropics. Alma Baker met Zane Grey while he was game fishing from the Tuna Club on Catalina Island. Grey was already quite famous in his angling endeavours while making a fortune from writing Cowboy adventure books that made him well known in America and other places in the world, and so Baker thought he should come to New Zealand to get publicity for the game fishing as it was quite a tourist industry in many coastal parts of New Zealand. Alma Baker, through his wealth, had great influence in many places in the world, and one was the New Zealand Government of the day. He persuaded the Government to invite Grey to New Zealand to fish and publicise our game fishing in New Zealand. In 1926 a new fishing club house was built and completed at Otehei Bay in the Bay of Islands called the ‘Zane Grey Sporting Club Ltd’. It had full accommodation in separate cabins, and a clubhouse with bar and dinning available, and included long distance phone and post office facilities. Four new game fishing boats were built to game fish from the new location, built, and as we understand, paid for mostly at the Government’s expense. Over the next few years Zane Grey fished in the North coast down into the Bay of Plenty, including fresh water at Taupo. There is no record of him staying at the Lodge that had his name, other than visits in its early days, although there were plenty of other well known anglers who stayed and fished from there. The original Zane Grey Sporting Club visitor’s book is in the Russell Museum. Also there are some catch records etched on large Kauri wood panels displayed in the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club Inc Russell Clubhouse that came from the Zane Grey Club. Zane Grey presented New Zealand Marlin and Shark fishing to the world, putting our game fishing in New Zealand on the world map without doubt.
When the great depression came in the mid 1930s the Lodge was closed through the lack of trade, and the boats were sold. Later in that era the Lodge was sold to Jack Anderson an American banker who operated it with a manager until his estate sold it again in the 1970s. The main building burnt down a few years later, and these days it is a tourist stop for Bay of Islands charter party boats as a stop at the restaurant that has been built there. It is believed this was the first game fishing clubhouse to be built in New Zealand.
I don’t have the same knowledge of the other founding clubs but have fished out of most of their areas except for Mercury Bay. I’m sure all these clubs will have their early development history on record.
The five founding clubs all started without club houses. Following are some of the facilities they used before venturing into their own premises:- Whangaroa used the Marlin Hotel; the Bay of Islands used the Duke of Marlborough historic hotel; Whangarei after moving from Whangarei Harbour to Tutukaka Harbour used the old Tutukaka pub when the little office at the end of the wharf wasn’t big enough, not sure where Mercury Bay met before the club building on the wharf but most likely a local Pub; Tauranga had a game fishing camp at Mayor Island but used the hotels on the Tauranga water front for meetings and social events outside of fishing, although they also used an office on the Charter Boat wharf. These Clubs will have met in many other places as well but they are all rich in their own history and of game fishing in New Zealand.
In the early years there were no unified game fishing rules and regulations. Zane Grey tried to stop some of the practices being used, like the use of treble or multiple hooks, harpoons for harpooning fish close to the boat, sliding gaffs that went down the line to snag a fish that they could not get up with rod and reel, hard baiting to chock the fish, putting a float at the top of the leader to stop a fish from going down, are to name some methods used. Their fishing equipment was antiquated and in many cases homemade. While there were a few split cane rods, most were made from local supple-jack, a small tree called ‘Tanekaha’ all shapes and sizes. Many of the old clubs have these rods and also reels on display.
The fishing rules were different from club to club especially between Northland and the Bay of Plenty where most of the game fishing was taking place in those days. To make it worse clubs and anglers where accusing each other of cheating causing bad blood between clubs in the North and the Bay of Plenty. While there had been attempts to unify the fishing rules the clubs could not agree what they should be. 
Then in 1939 the100 year Centennial was being planned. NZ being part of the British Empire for 100 years and there were planned big celebrations coming up in 1940. Part of the celebration was to have a national game fishing tournament. All known clubs and anglers were notified of the pending event, then because of the development of the Second World War in 1940 it did not reach the level expected, although many anglers fished in it. The event was called the Auckland Centennial Game Fishing Tournament with its own fishing rules, the first time in New Zealand all game fishers had to fish with the same rules. At the same time the first proposed national body was trying to get underway but was unable to continue its development until after the war ended in 1945.
In England in the 1930s the idea of a worldwide association of marine anglers had been brewing for some time. The old British Tunny Club had taken the first steps to establish the headquarters in England to formulate worldwide ethical fishing rules, however the threat of war had interrupted their plans. In the meantime Australia and the United States had taken the first steps in this direction which the British Tunny Club had hoped to start.
In Australia there had been discussions going on to consider forming a world wide body. New Zealand was included by Dr Harold Pettit representing the Bay of Islands. Dr Pettit was a well known angler in those days who shared the notion that we needed the same fishing rules for all anglers. In Sydney a July 1938 meeting was held led by Clive Firth the President of the newly formed ‘Game Fishing Association of Australia’ (GFAA). In attendance was Michael Lerner who was on a fishing expedition in the waters of New Zealand and Australia for the American Museum of natural history in New York, accompanied by Dr William H Gregory a world renowned Ichthyologist, and Miss Francesca La Monte, Ichthyologist, a well renowned woman angler, was associated with the formulation of the IGFA and who later became one of their Trustees. Over the next year there were several meetings with different representatives from the USA Tuna Club, the American Museum of Natural History, GFAA, the Tunny Club in England and Dr Pettit New Zealand. There may have also been others not found in research. On June 7th 1939 the International Game Fish Association was formally launched known as IGFA. NZ’s first IGFA representative was Dr Harold Pettit, a position he held from its inception until after the formation of the Council in 1957. One of newly formed IGFA’s first duties was to form a worldwide register of record fish caught. With this came a set of fishing rules and regulations that everybody had to fish under to be able to claim a record caught fish. Most all of the other national bodies that had registered records of fish caught were integrated into the IGFA world record catch records. Many of the fishing rules and regulations they created are still in vogue today although there have been many changes to keep up with changing times.
A few years after the second war ended with time needed for our country and indeed the world to get back to normal, people started to go out game fishing again. With that the clubs started operating back to normal, and they and many well known anglers brought up the subject of forming a National body again. The idea of having a National body had the backing of many of our prominent citizens but still could not get the clubs and anglers to agree on what the rules and regulations should be or how they would be implemented. For the next 10 years there was little progress even though there were many meetings and ideas discussed. At this time there was still no other National body interested in servicing the needs of game fishing as it was in those days. This problem was having an effect on New Zealand’s worldwide reputation as a game fishing mecca.
In 1957 the then Governor General of New Zealand, Lord Norrie (a keen game fishing angler), got involved in bringing the clubs together to fish under the same rules and regulations. The rest of the Council’s formation is well documented in the Council’s fifty year book.
There have been many changes made since 1957 along with many great achievements which the Council has instigated or been part of in the years until now. I have been lucky enough to have known all the past Presidents including Geoff Chitty, the founding Chairman, knowing him before the Council was formed. With Ros’s help (more than 30 years of doing our secretarial work and being the registered Secretary Treasurer from 1995 until 2015) we intend to tell you all as much as what can be remembered as we believe it will make interesting history.
It is commonly known that the Council in its early days was run on the old British standards very formal called by many an “old boys club “. This was not unusual as most organizations with any standing were operated in that way. You may be surprised, that there are still societies and many companies being managed in this formal way today. Just go to your local body meeting where you will see most are still run in this manner.
The early duties of the Council were to get harmony between the member clubs and anglers along with agreeing to the same fishing rules and regulations. There were many prolonged discussions between the clubs representatives on these matters. When I joined their executive in 1967 as one of three Bay of Islands representatives with Noel Brady and Norm Hudspith ten years later these issues were still being debated. Noel was the President of the Council the year before I joined, Norm was the President for the years 1976-77. For the first fifteen years the Presidency had to change each year with the AGM going to the club or the location of the outgoing President’s club by a constitution rule. From then on with a rule change Bon Morpeth from Whakatane was the first President who served two years or more with some following up to as long as the membership wanted them or how long they were willing to give the time needed to control the now large body. The AGM’s then were often held in Auckland, or other larger towns, as in those days there were few clubhouses or suitable venues big enough to hold these events.
The Council’s membership started to grow with more clubs showing interest in the Council’s activities with the Council’s major concern being how the Marlin fishery was being managed by the Government. In the early seventies our Marlin catch started to go down. We believed it was being over fished by foreign commercial fishers. Then an unexpected solution came, the cost of fuel on the world market went through the roof causing the foreign fishers to go home to re-evaluate the cost of long distance commercial fishing. To nobody’s surprise the Marlin catch went back to normal. After a few years they came back and the Marlin catch started to go down again.
By now the new Territorial Sea and Economic Zone Act had come into vogue on controlling how these waters could be commercially fished. This became very important to the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club Inc and their actions were successful in getting the Billfish moratorium put in place. The real leader in this project, not mentioned in the fifty year book, was Garth Marsland. He researched the new Fisheries Act finding out where the Government was violating the Act letting the foreign fishers overfish our waters and he was at the table during the negotiations with the Government officials on this matter. Although never a member club delegate to the Council he held executive positions in more than one club over the years and was very much involved with recreational fisheries management for many years. This successful action taken by the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club Inc was the start of the Council being invited to Ministry meetings on management of the nation’s fisheries. While we were like fish out of water at these meetings, having to deal with scientists and commercial fishing professional negotiators, we did have some success making our point in this position in the deciding of the future of our fisheries and we developed a good rapport with the Government and Commercial Fishermen which seems to be lost today.
After the direction given in the early 70’s by the then Minister of Fisheries not wanting to listen to just one faction of recreational fishers but only to a group that represented all, (this requirement was not needed with future Ministers), the New Zealand Recreational Fishing Council Inc (NZRFC) was formed by some of the Executive of this Council. In 1978 a meeting was called for all the national recreational fishing groups and others in New Zealand to attend a meeting in Taupo to discuss forming a national body to represent all recreational fishers. After a day of debates going into late that night a Constitution was written in long hand by our Lawyer, Denham Shale, which most present there signed before going home, as a way forward. Unfortunately after great efforts by the NZBGFC, and other National groups, the New Zealand Recreational Fishing Council Inc could not agree on a way forward even though most of all the National bodies involved had tried. It seemed that the different factions of recreational fishing wouldn’t give ground thinking they were going to lose their identity. While the NZRFC was in disruption much of the time they did make a contribution to the management of recreational fishing interests under some of their leaders like Bob Burstall. In 1993 the NZRFC represented all New Zealand recreational fishers in the Fisheries Act review at the direction of the then Minister, Doug Kidd, which led to the new 1996 Fisheries Act. After the review was completed Bob Burstall wrote to the Minister asking him if the NZRFC now represented all the recreational fishers when negotiating the future management of our fisheries? The Minister’s reply was that they only represented them for the review, now they only represent their membership. But troubles carried on between the NZBGFC, the NZRFC, and others, which led to the straw that broke the camels back when in 2007 they broke the trust we had with them so the Council membership at the AGM voted to disassociate itself from any further dealings with the NZRFC and this is still the situation today.
As the Council grew there was a requirement for some member clubs to have more of their executives and others attending other than their appointed delegates at the Council meetings. This became a challenge to the clubs and the Council in funding these gatherings when the numbers were in the vicinity of 60 or 70 or more at each of the 4 or 5 meetings each year. Because of this large expense to the member clubs and the Council, in 1990 John Hough came up with idea to divide the Council’s member clubs into zones of location with one representative from each Zone forming a Management Committee to manage the Council’s operations. This was different from the early management sub-committee they had before which were elected by the Council delegates but not from the Zones as happens now. Even though they had a management sub-committee it did not stop the numbers attending our meetings. Also they did not have any real standing in the constitution as everything they did had to be ratified by the full committee. It took many Council meetings before the member clubs agreed on John Hough’s new formula for the constitution rule change to be voted in. These management rules are pretty much the same today other than they call themselves a Board.
In 1989 Dr Peter Pearse from Canada, an internationally recognised economist and authority on fisheries and Government initiatives, was employed by the New Zealand Government to evaluate our National fisheries to improve the way they should be managed under the QMS going into the future. He took information from all sectors of the public involved in fishing, including commercial and recreational interests. His advice to the Government on recreational fishing was to create income for the management of recreational fishers saying they should be licensed. This would then enable them to create a register of recreational fishers and control the tonnage they could catch. They spent the next few years trying to convince us we should be licensed with a Task Force Road Show headed by Brent Wheeler (Bent Dealer many called him) trying to tell us the benefits of licensing. Wheeler had to change his story several times so his credibility went out the window, hence his nick name. This was the start when Government tried to control recreational fishing. The Government still uses the advice he gave back then, that the basic principle on how the recreational fishing should be managed, and has not changed to this day.
Another important project the Council instigated was the 1991 survey to Establish the Worth of Recreational Fishing in NZ. This survey had been backed and funded half by the Government the rest came from NZBGFC, Fish and Game and the NZ Sport Goods Association. The information received from this Survey caused the Ministry to take more notice of the importance of the recreational fishing rights with more than a quarter of the population going fishing more than twice a year, spending more than 750 million dollars each year.
More information was gained from the Survey by using the Government accepted multipliers and reasonable assumptions and we were able to suggest the tonnage of fish caught by recreational fishing in many areas, the road tax that was being paid on boat fuel, other taxes paid on fishing related equipment and how important recreational fishing was to many coastal towns and to the National economy. Even though the Government was behind the Survey it was quite obvious they did not like the outcome. Nevertheless they started to include us further in their planning, inviting us to more of their fisheries meetings, instigating more of their own surveys on the recreational catch, and at one stage reducing the commercial Snapper catch by 2 thousand tonnes, then by commercial fishing company pressure and legal threats they had to reinstate 1.5 thousand tonnes. The five hundred tonnes are still being held by the Ministry which commercial are still trying to get back to this day.
It should be noted in the first years of the Council being invited by the Ministry to be involved in the fisheries management, as said before, we were like fish out of water sitting at the table with all the Government and Commercial professionals. While being able to make some meaningful progress it was soon realised that we needed professional help in filling this position. About this time John Holdsworth and Pete Saul worked for the Ministry of Fisheries and had always been a great help to the recreational fishers. Then in the Government realignment of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF as it was called in those days) their services were no longer required. This enabled the Council to formally enlist their help in dealing with fishery matters. This assistance grew from odd days to the importance of their help today which is greatly appreciated by all recreational fishers.
About the same time the then President, Peter Short, along with some others on the executive, believed the Council should form its own research organisation to help with our negotiations with the managing of the fisheries. It was agreed by all that it had to be a charitable trust to give us credibility. Peter went to work forming this body but unfortunately he passed away without the Trust being formed. Peter was a good President/Chairman respected by all. The formation of the Foundation was taken over by Bill Reece who had experience in this field of law, then becoming one of the trustees until his passing. Bill was the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club Inc Lawyer who guided them through the Billfish regulation that is still in existence today. Bill also did other work for the Council, and for all of Bill’s services to the Council, the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club Inc, and the NZ Marine Research Foundation formation he never rendered an account, something rare these days.
Our story as researched continues
We have covered a few of the missing bits from the 50th History Document but there is more to come, then on to the last 10 years
By John Chibnall and Roz Nelson
One of the greatest stalwarts the Council ever had was Dr Peter Davie who was involved in many projects dating back to approximately 1976. Peter, John Holdsworth and Pete Saul ran the first and other Satellite programs for the NZ Marine Foundation successfully in the first few years of this generation. Tim Sippel, a young American who had come to New Zealand to study under Dr Peter Davie at Massey University, was also a valued member of the Satellite Tagging team. These days John Holdsworth is still very much involved with the efforts of the Council through LegaSea and the fisheries management committee. Pete Saul as most know is the Council’s Records Officer and a club delegate. Peter Davie is a Trustee to the NZ Marine Research Foundation. All are still very much involved with the preservation of our recreational fishing and the fisheries.
Another person of note who did a lot for the Council and died on the job was John Hough. Present members should be aware of the efforts of John (Hough) to look after recreational fishing and sustainable fishing in all areas. He went to many meetings in Wellington, but sadly dropped dead in 1999 while fishing with the Minister of Fisheries, John Luxton, and several other industry leaders. One of John’s achievements, as mentioned before, was developing the Zone structure of the Council. He also had great success in looking after Crayfish in the Gisborne area. When John suddenly passed away we were lucky to have had a very competent person in Bill Marshall who became the President for 6 months until Jeff Romeril was appointed. Bill didn’t continue as he had health issues at the time. Jeff Romeril went on to serve the Council for 8 years and was without doubt the best President we ever had.
Over the years International Game Fish Association (IGFA) Presidents and Trustees have come to New Zealand for major events. We were lucky that many of us met IGFA’s President, Michael Leech, and Trustee Jack Anderson II, when they came over for the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club’s 75th Anniversary. Then in 2006, Council’s 50th year, President Rob Kramer and his wife Lara attended our AGM at the Council’s request and as their guests.
2000 was a significant year when at the Council’s AGM in Gisborne the Government produced the Soundings Document, which had the support of the New Zealand Recreational Fishing Council Inc, and was produced to give us one of three options on a proportional share of the fishery. This Government initiative did not have our Council’s or it’s memberships support. The outcome was the development of option4. option4 went on to be called LegaSea with both (option4 followed by LegaSea) being prominent within the Council ever since.
Council got involved with the Kahawai Legal Challenge (KLC) at the AGM in Whangamata in 2004 after a presentation that Scott Macindoe gave to the membership. The membership agreed we should be involved in this challenge and promptly put up $25,000 to get it going and with a promise to fund them a further $100,000 if and when needed. This project went on to be heard by the Court which we were successful in winning. But then there was an appeal by the commercial fishermen where the decision was reversed. Then the Council in its wisdom took it to the Supreme Court where we had a partial win back. While the end result was worthwhile, it did cost a lot of money, funded by Council’s membership, its friends and known important supporters like Scott Macindoe. Trish Rea came with option4 then LegaSea and was involved with many of their reports. Today she works as a contactor writing reports and submissions for LegaSea, the NZSFC and the NZMRF. Her work is greatly respected and appreciated by all. At the same time Barry Torkington was part of Scott’s team with much of their work part of the Fisheries Management and LegaSea. He has great knowledge of the fisheries and how it should be managed.
The Nationals Tournament: The Nationals grew from it being an International Tournament where anglers came from Australia, USA, South Africa, England etc. In the early 1970’s it was dropped from being an International Tournament to being a National Tournament mainly because it was a multi-based event which was not popular as many of the international contestants said they wanted to be in same area as the rest of the anglers or they would not come back. Consequently it was dropped as an international event to just a National tournament as it is today, although it still has an Overseas Section. In the period up to 2007 there were many changes to the way it operated and the days that it fished but has been stable in its Rules in the last 10 years and although we have introduced the smaller species, the running of the Tournament has been basically the same. It is a recognised fact that the success of any fishing tournament is in the convenor.
Hiwi the Kiwi: This got off the ground in 2008 when Dennis Davey, Whakatane Delegate, underwrote the project so it could get started. Evan Mackay was contracted to go on the road for Hiwi the Kiwi and while he served us well and encouraged the Clubs to be involved it was a big expense to the Council. However, without Evan pushing them, it was hard to keep the Clubs involved.
New Zealand Fishing News has backed the project from the start, writing an article every month in their magazine. Kilwell Sports from Rotorua have given an ‘unaccountable’ number of rods and reels – one each month for kids signing up on the website since 2010 and more to be given out by the Minstrel at the schools he is visiting.
Bill Ross was also employed by the President Richard Baker to help in the development of Hiwi the Kiwi and while it was a great success with The Minstrel as the presenter and with all the schools it went to, it ended up costing the Council a lot of money.
At this point the Council’s monetary reserves were at their lowest ever. This resulted in the levies being increased at the AGM in New Plymouth in 2011, even though a boat was given to the Council, courtesy of Firmans Marine to raffle and the Council later purchased a second boat from the same source which was used in a Draw. Both the Raffle and the Draw were fraught with problems. While the Raffle had the potential income of $240,000 should we sell 48,000 tickets, unfortunately it was difficult to get the Clubs to sell the tickets, some legal issues got in the way, and the raffle was not successful financially. There were also problems when it came to the draw and that was unsuccessful financially also.
It should be noted here that the New Zealand Marine Research Foundation donated $10,000 to the Hiwi the Kiwi project initially.
The Hiwi the Kiwi project itself has been very successful with the Minstrel visiting 1,100 schools to date (June 2017) and some 370,000 children have seen the show. The Water Safety aspect of it is making great impressions on the children, making sure everyone wears their Life Jackets and are aware of how to be safe around water.
Sport New Zealand – formerly called SPARC accepted the Council as a National Sports Organisation (NSO) after a visit to them by Richard Baker and Mark Hemingway in 2009. As part of the criteria, the Council introduced the Anti-doping policy in their Bylaws to align with SPARC, along with a paragraph on appeals being able to be taken to the Sports Tribunal. A lot of the Strategic Plan was built around the success of us obtaining funding from SPARC which unfortunately never happened. In March 2011 we received a letter from SPARC advising they had made a change to the way they classify sport and recreation organisations. In the past, SPARC formally ‘recognised’ groups as the national organisations responsible for their activity, and ‘recognition’ was seen as the first step towards gaining investment from SPARC. However, the way SPARC works with sport and recreation groups evolved and their focus was now on investing in those organisations that could deliver results. So although they were still keen to work with national leadership organisations such as NSOs, formal ‘recognition’ was no longer a stepping stone to investment. Later SPARC changed their name to Sport New Zealand and even today if you go into their website and go to ‘Find a Sport’, then into ‘Sport Fishing’, you will be directed to the Council’s Website.
Name Change: The following name change was passed at the 2009 AGM in Hokianga = “THE NEW ZEALAND BIG GAME FISHING COUNCIL INCORPORATED” be changed to “NEW ZEALAND SPORT FISHING COUNCIL INCORPORATED”. While the New Zealand Recreational Fishing Council Inc delegates were present when the name change went through and congratulated the New Zealand Big Game Fishing Council Inc on making the change, some (or one) of their members contacted the Incorporated Societies and blocked the Council from taking the name. This was discovered only when the Secretary went to lodge the name change the following week after the AGM. After much squabbling and frustration the name change went through on the 10th December 2009.
This debacle cost the Council $9,298.90 plus GST in legal fees alone. The Council had also called a Special General Meeting which had to be cancelled when the name became available, once again at a cost to Council.
Companies:
After the Council’s name change was finally registered, the Council registered the companies – LegaSea Limited, New Zealand Sport Fishing Council Ltd and New Zealand Sport Fishing Ltd, to protect our name. When the Council agreed to LegaSea being part of the Council they used the shelf company LegaSea Limited and that’s how it is to this day. It should be noted that while LegaSea Ltd is owned by the Council it is run by their own appointed Committee which includes some of the members from our Board.
LegaSea, as mentioned above developed from option4 and in its first year the Board decided it should be officially part of the Council so it became LegaSea Limited, taking over the shelf company the Council owned and is mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Strategic Plan: A Five Year Strategic Plan was put together over the 2009/10 year with many meetings of the Management Committee at Bill Ross’s place in Auckland. Bill Ross was ‘contracted’ by Richard Baker with approval of the Management Committee over a period of time and he led the discussions and presented the Strategic Plan at the 2010 AGM where the concept of it was accepted. The Plan was for the Council to be self-sufficient and by the end of 2015 it was expected Affiliation Fees would be nil which was very attractive to the members. Membership was estimated to be 80,000 members by the end of 2015. Unfortunately when it was discovered that there would be no funding forthcoming from Sport New Zealand (SPARC) the Plan didn’t work out as hoped and appears to have been disbanded.
Constitution: While Richard was very competent at running meetings and a dedicated Council member he had high hopes of changing the way the Council was being managed and to this end wanted the Council run by a separate Board.
Richard had arranged with Len Clapham (assisted by Kevin Healy) to put together a new Constitution which would have the Council run by a separate (non NZSFC) Board. This had been circulated to all the members prior to the 2011 AGM in New Plymouth. Len Clapham and Kevin Healy were at the meeting and spoke in regard to how the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council Inc (NZSFC) could move forward. Len Clapham’s personality didn’t suit the meeting and most of his suggestions weren’t accepted. While they didn’t agree with what Len Clapham said, they did agree that the Constitution needed a review. One of Clapham’s suggestions was that we become a Charitable Trust but he failed to tell us how we could be one. It was decided the matter of a new constitution would go to the January Management Committee meeting for further action and decision as to when there would be a SGM after consultation with all our member clubs.
A Sub-committee of John Chibnall, Jerry Garrett, Richard Baker and Deryk Nielsen was set up to work on the new constitution and it was written from Len Clapham’s draft. The Draft was circulated and agreed it would be put at an SGM held prior to the 2012 AGM in Tutukaka. Meantime during discussions over the year Deryk and Richard became concerned that they were not able to have a physical meeting with the other two members (who dispute this fact), and had some issues with the Constitution’s content which was put together via email. One of their concerns was that the Secretary and the Treasurer should not hold both positions. It is ironic that the new Secretary/Executive Officer is also the Treasurer, even though the Constitution always allowed for these two positions to be held either by one person or two.
They formed a new Subcommittee which included Paul Batten and Craig Smith as well as John Chibnall, Richard Baker and Deryk Nielsen. They had a single meeting where just a few minor changes were made. Following further discussion at the Board meetings the new Constitution was put to a SGM in Pukekohe before the AGM and was adopted. The new Constitution was registered with the Incorporated Societies on the 9th October 2013. A couple of updated Rules have been registered since as this is a living document that needs updated from time to time.
Business Plan: Alastair Lane and Natasha Matias from Value Chain Connections, put a lot of work into developing a Business Plan for the Council and many Board meetings were spent discussing the various aspects of it and the Plan was first presented to the members at the 2014 AGM in Gisborne. The Business Plan covered Roles and Responsibilities, Value Proposition, Communication, Revenue, Fishing Safety and the Nationals and various members of the Board were each put in charge of each point. As this is written, we are unsure how the Plan is unfolding.
Affiliation Fees in 2006 were $4.50 plus 50 cent donation to the NZMRF – $5 total fee. This remained until the 2008/09 season when they were increased to $6.50 with a donation to the NZMRF of 50 cents – total fee $7.00. GST increased from 12 to 15% on the 1st October 2010 but while the Council received less in Affiliation Fees because of this increase, fees didn’t go up until the 2012/13 season when they increased to $9 for seniors and $4.50 for juniors, per member respectively with $1 and .50 cents respectively being collected and passed on as a donation to the NZ Marine Research Foundation – total fee $10 for seniors and $5 for juniors. At the AGM in 2016 the members agreed to increase their donation to the NZ Marine Research Foundation from $1 to $2 and to $1 from 50 cents for Juniors. From the April 2017 Board Minutes it appears there is a paper to be circulated to discuss Affiliation fees but until we see the paper we are unsure where there are issues, or if there are any.
Yearbook: The Council prints a yearbook each year which is free to all its members. This book is a great record of the Council’s history as well as containing all the New Zealand and World Records for both Saltwater and Fly Fishing. From 2010 the Records have been amalgamated with NZ Angling & Casting’s records. Any that they hold which are greater than ours, are printed in italics. New Records over each year are noted with an asterix* beside the record. The book also includes the Nationals Rules and Entry Form, as well as the previous Nationals Results, Council’s Bylaws, IGFA Rules, and just so many more things, it is invaluable. If you want to know who a Past President was or where the AGM was held in a certain year – just refer to the book. For a number of years the Council printed extra books and they were circulated with NZ Fishing News’s Christmas Edition which went out in January each year. More recently the book has been kept for Council members only. One of the many incentives for belonging to a Club.
Grant Dixon: We cannot write up the history without including the invaluable contribution we have had from Grant Dixon from NZ Fishing News. Grant has been continually supportive of the Council, and got behind the Hiwi the Kiwi project with a passion. He has also been a great supporter of the Nationals and of the Council in general.
Life Memberships: Prior to 2006 Life members were Larry Dyer, John Chibnall and Jeff Romeril. Since then the following have been given this recognition:
2006 – Roz Nelson: 2015 – Richard Baker: 2016 – Pete Saunders
Fisheries Management: It was said by the Late John Hough that when we were dealing with Government we really were just a bunch of amateurs, although having said that we did have reasonable success in our endeavours and were able to sit at the table with the Ministers of the day and earned their respect. However we were aware that we did need to be more professional so around 1988 when John Holdsworth and Pete Saul no longer worked for the Ministry of Fisheries they came on board with the Council and their knowledge was invaluable. They also wrote many excellent Submissions and continue to do so today albeit through LegaSea who took over this role from the Council, originally as option4.
Management Committee Dinners: Once a year, usually prior to the April meeting the members of the Management Committee and their partners met to have dinner and socialize. This was a small token of appreciation for the work and commitment they put in over the years. This tradition continued for many years, and while Richard was President he opened his home and his lovely wife Tracey put on dinner for us all. It was always an enjoyable occasion and continued through until Scott Macindoe arranged for the Management Committee to go out fishing prior to the 2012 April meeting. I believe this was a successful day out but for whatever reason wasn’t ongoing and put paid to the ‘traditional’ evenings, although many of the Board today still meet the evening prior to the Board meetings.
Unincorporated Clubs: In 2010 a new ruling was agreed to whereby the Council would accept Clubs who weren’t incorporated. Part of the ruling was that they would have input into the Council up to Zone level only.
Governance: The Board organized a Governance Training Session so they were aware how Boards and Club Committees should operate. It was an expensive exercise, clubs were invited to attend and it was planned to obtain funding. No details of how it was funded so we assume the Council covered the costs and the session went ahead in November 2016.
10 years
2006 to 2017 – snippets from the Minutes
Service Awards in excess of 20 years only have been acknowledged below. Many others have done 2, 5, 10 or 15 years but in an effort not to make this too long only the longest serving have been noted
2006 AGM Whitianga – hosted by the Mercury Bay Game Fishing Club Inc
It was noted Bon Morpeth, past delegate for Whakatane & Max Hetherington, Secretary of the NZRFC, had passed away over the year
Rob Dinsdale was presented with a bronze marlin for 50 years of dedication to the Council (having held every position). After his passing, Rob’s family donated it back to the Council and it was agreed it be given out for the First Marlin of the Season each year (whether weighed or tagged).
Alain Jorion was presented with the first ever Slam – The Billfish Slam. Slams were the idea of Colin Murray from Hawkes Bay and were agreed to and introduced some years prior.
The Policy document on management came into being, since then there have been several policy statements added covering different fish species to demonstrate their importance.
Jim Anderton, Minister of Fisheries, attended and addressed the members.
From this time the Fisheries Management was written up separately in their yearly reports. It should be noted that Fisheries Management has become a major part of the Council’s business even though it is primarily run by LegaSea.
2007 AGM Whakatane – hosted by the Whakatane Sportfishing Club Inc
Richard Baker was elected President at this AGM, taking over from Jeff Romeril who had been President for the last 8 years. Richard took over the reins for the next four years.
The 2nd Slam was awarded – again to Alain Jorion. (This time for a Tuna Slam).
Lisa Kelly was elected as Auditor as Rob Dinsdale Jnr was standing down.
John Chibnall was appointed Patron and VP’s were Peter Campbell and Evan Mackay. Our previous Patron was the late Rob Dinsdale.
Pete Saul was officially appointed as the Records Officer although he had already stepped in after the passing of Rob Dinsdale on 1st November 2006.
Rob and Lara Kramer, President of the IGFA attended the AGM at the Council’s request and Rob was most impressed with the way the Council ran.
A special coffee mug in celebration of 50 years was distributed to the delegates.
Evan had arranged a Weigh and Win competition which was drawn at the 2008 AGM. All that was needed to be done was for a photo of the angler and their fishing equipment taken at the weigh station to be sent to Council’s Secretary. It ran from 1st July 2007 to 30th June 2008. It should be noted that this wasn’t the first time the Council had arranged to have a Yearly prize for Anglers belonging to the member clubs to enter but for whatever reason they were never very successful as even though entry was free, anglers (or Clubs) were slow to forward entries. The previous competition run by the Council was The Angler of the Year Contest back in the late 90’s.
It was at this AGM that we decided we couldn’t work with the NZRFC and a motion was passed to withdraw our membership from them.
A special one off $3 levy (ie $3 per member) was agreed unanimously (by the Clubs) to help with the Kahawai Legal Challenge and this had to be paid by December 2008.
Over the year the NZMRF funded a project on the movements and behaviour of Striped Marlin and the Ministry funded a Broadbill Swordfish Satellite tagging project. There was also a Bluefin Tuna Satellite tagging joint project between the NZMRF, Stanford University and Blue Water Marine Research with the some of the funding coming from the Lion Foundation, other Pub Charities, Council funds, and a big help from the Enterprise Group with cash and the use of an ocean going boat. These projects wouldn’t have happened without the expertise of John Holdsworth, Pete Saul (who own Blue Water Marine Research) and Dr Peter Davie.
A Policy on the Welfare of fish during recreational fishing and after release was put together by Dr Peter Davie and agreed to by the members present at the AGM, as was a policy on anglers with disabilities claiming records.
Grant Dixon announced Fishing News would be running a Snapper World Cup. This was the 2nd Snapper World Cup and was fished out of four comps, one of which was the Nationals.
White Sharks were removed from the 2008 Nationals and our records as they were a protected species.
From the NZMRF, the Satellite Tagging programme was completed. Engraved trophies were given out to those who had helped with the Striped Marlin Tagging project.
In appreciation of his service to Council Jeff Romeril was presented with a wooden striped marlin carved by John Carleton.
2008 AGM in Napier – hosted by the Hawke’s Bay Sports Fishing Club Inc
Richard Baker was at the helm. At the time of Richard becoming President the Council had 59 Clubs.
Long Service Awards went to John Chibnall for 40 years and to Evan Mackay for 20 years.
The 50 year anniversary book was completed thanks to Oxford Trust for the funding to enable it to be printed.
The Council via LegaSea has become involved with Iwi’s through the Hokianga Accord with our common interests in recreational and customary fishing.
Sonny Tau presented on the Hokianga Accord – A Customary Perspective.
Guardians of the Sea came into being around this time and were accepted by the Charities Commission as a Charitable Trust 7th May 2008.
The Council accepted a Coastline Access Policy.
It was Moved that the Management Committee develop a Code of Practice (which doesn’t appear to have been developed).
Mahimahi to be included in the 2009 Nationals.
2009 AGM in the Hokianga – hosted by Hokianga Big Game & Sport Fishing Club Inc
Richard wrote a 16 page President’s Report.
Evan Mackay and Mark Hemingway were elected as VPs.
The 2010 Yearbook to show records amalgamated with New Zealand Angling & Casting Association.
We were given a free stand at the Hutchwilco Boat Show – Bill Ross ran it very successfully. Hutchwilco kindly donated a stand to us each year which we organised until it was taken over by LegaSea in 2012 who have run their own successful stand ever since.
John Chibnall had attended an IGFA meeting in Kona, Hawaii.
A motion was instigated by Pete Saul and was passed to reintroduce a bottle of whisky for the winner of the Lord Norrie Gold Cup – and this continues to this day. Over the last few years the whisky has been donated, and (at times), presented by Jeff Romeril.
The Southern Grand Slam was approved and came into effect 1 July 2010.
Phil Heatley, Minister of Fisheries, spoke at the meeting – congratulating the Council on Hiwi the Kiwi and on us being recognised by SPARC.
2010 AGM – Paihia – hosted by the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club Inc
52 clubs and 96 people were in attendance. The Council membership at this time had gone down to 56 Clubs.
Tony Hill, IGFA Rep, and past delegate, was recognised for his 25 years of service and Don Bellingham recognised for 20 years. It should be noted that Don didn’t miss many meetings and probably had the greatest distance to travel – from Houhora in the North (it is 366 k’s from Houhora to Auckland)! Most meetings were held further away than Auckland. Never heard him complain once and more than likely never claimed any expenses.
After the debacle over our name change the Management Committee thought we should develop a Strategic plan which was also presented at the AGM by Bill Ross, our then provisional Manager. The Plan had been put together over the year by the Management Committee and the concept of this plan was accepted.
Richard Baker presented John Chibnall with a photo of him (John) receiving his MNZM award. The Council had nominated John for a Queen’s Service Award and he received the MNZM during the year.
Mark Hemingway and Mark Connor were elected VPs (Mark 1 and Mark II).
Derrick Paull attended to speak on behalf of New Zealand Angling & Casting and Stuart Ryan, our Legal man, was in attendance, as was George Riley (Hokianga Accord).
The budget included money to pay for a General Manager and this was approved (but never instigated).
NZ Record claims became free to members and a $150 charge was agreed to for non members.
Hiwi the Kiwi and New Zealand Sport Fishing Council Trade Marks were registered, which will need attention in 2020.
Internet Banking began.
Bill Ross successfully organised the Boat Show.
Phil Heatley, Minister of Fisheries, spoke to the AGM and to our amazement told the gathering he didn’t think recreational fishing was of great importance as if it wasn’t available the public would do something else!
Charter Boat reporting was discussed and has since been implemented by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
The Strategic Plan was presented. It was based around the Council being a National Sports Organisation (NSO) and predicted figures were based upon funding coming from SPARC. To this end David Beeche from Triathlon NZ apologised for not being able to attend but a video was shown to the members on the challenges of the transition to an NSO. Shirley Baker from Mt Maunganui also spoke on Netball NZ and their transition to an NSO.
2011 AGM in New Plymouth – hosted by New Plymouth Sportfishing & Underwater Club Inc
This AGM was to have been held in Christchurch, hosted by the Ashley Sport Fishing Club Inc, but changed because of the Earthquake and brought forward because of the Rugby World Cup so held in August instead of the traditional September.
Noted that Brian McDonald, delegate for Houhora and a past Vice President of the Council, passed away 20th March 2011.
The Council now has 56 full members and 3 probationary members – total of 59 clubs.
Auditor to be Alan Martin as Lisa Kelly had resigned.
John Chibnall was inducted into the IGFA Hall of Fame.
Mark Connor was elected as President.
Mark Hemingway and Phil Appleyard were elected as VPs.
Over the year the Council put up a Kilwell Rod & Reel and a Fishing Trip as prizes at the Sport Auckland Awards.
Fuel benefits were introduced and power and telephone benefits discussed.
Leanne Tasman-Jones put together a very successful stand at the Boat Show which included Hiwi the Kiwi.
Wayne, Viv & Shelley from Hawkes Bay took care of the HTK Raffle.
Karli Thomas from Greenpeace spoke to the members requesting their support and a ban on FADs. The Council Issued this Press Release:
“The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council stands beside Greenpeace in their ‘Change your tuna’ campaign. We urge those companies, like Sealord, selling canned tuna in New Zealand to ensure that they use only truly sustainable fish and stop selling tuna that has been caught by seiners using FADs,” said Richard Baker.
The Council agreed to purchase a line tester (from Phil) and were to seek funding to cover the cost which never happened but later Phil donated one to the Council as a gift.
Delegates were asked via a motion to go back to their Clubs to confirm their support for the HTK programme.
2012 AGM at Tutukaka, hosted by Whangarei Deep Sea Anglers Club Inc
85 present – now 57 clubs
Colleen Robinson, from Whakatane but delegate for Waihau Bay and then Tautuku for many years, passed away 8th December 2011 and Bill Reece, Solicitor and a Trustee for the NZMRF, passed away 12th July 2012
20 Years Service Awards to Hilton Webb, Sheryl Hart and Richard Baker
The SGM in respect of a new constitution was to have been held prior to the AGM but was cancelled at the last minute. Kelvin Mowat told the meeting that this was out of order.
Andy Doube and James Stevenson-Wallace from the Ministry for Primary Industry spoke to the members on matters we had heard back in the 90’s.
LegaSea took over the Council’s stand at the Boat Show.
Fish Files went on line.
Snapper Policy was adopted.
Agreed to length records and the use of the fishing.net and IGFA measuring boards.
Future Search was discussed. Later became Our Fishing Future Inc which was funded by the Government to form a National body which had limited support and appears to have failed.
NZBGFC plates were auctioned and purchased by John Chibnall and Peter Stewart who had them made into a trophy which is held by the club hosting the AGM each year.
2013 AGM – Counties Sport Fishing Club Inc
86 present and 55 clubs in total.
The members ratified the updated Constitution at the SGM held prior to this AGM.
John Chibnall was recognised for his 45 years of service.
Jeff Romeril, Paul Batten and Colin Murray 20 Years and Evan Mackay 25 Years.
Water Safety presented.
A Line Tester was gifted to the Council by Phil Appleyard who designed it.
John Holdsworth to symposium in Taiwan – Whangamata gave $1500 towards his trip and Council covered the balance.
Mandy Kupenga is the National programme leader of LegaSea.
Club Marine Insurance came on board.
Presentations from Clinton Duffy and Riley Elliott.
9th October 2013 the new constitution was registered.
The NZRFC got involved with the government funded body called Our Fishing Future which went against the principles of Council and LegaSea. Our Fishing Future was incorporated in 2013.
2014 AGM – Gisborne Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club Inc
85 present – now 56 clubs
Special award to Colin Murray for 8 years voluntary work on the Hawkes Bay fisheries.
25 Years service to Bill Cooke, 30 Years Pete Saunders and 40 Years Larry Dyer.
Length records introduced into the Nationals (2015).
SIMRAD came on board for the 2015 Nationals.
New Braid section.
Jim Yeoman (new President of NZACA) addressed the members.
Baldwin Boyle Group (BBG) were commissioned by Scott to do a Stakeholders Analysis Review. Piet de Jong presented to the AGM which was very well received by everyone, although Scott was unhappy with the results.
The Business Plan took up a lot of time at meetings and was presented at the AGM. The emphasis seems to have been lost.
Dave Lockwood presented for Water Safety NZ, as he was employed by them at that time.
NZMRF is establishing the Value of Recreational Fishing to the Economy.
Tried to bring in tag and release only for sharks in the Nationals but South Island wouldn’t wear it. Didn’t happen.
2015 AGM in Christchurch – hosted by Ashley Sport Fishing Club Inc
Ros resigned July 2015 after 30 years. Dave Lockwood was contracted as the Secretary/Executive Officer and Treasurer at a starting cost of more than double what we had been paying previously. Dave took the Minutes of the AGM for the first time.
No auditor appointed.
Special Award to John Chibnall who the Minutes said was standing down after 47 years. John, to this day, remains the Council’s Patron, a Life Member and an IGFA Representative.
Phil Appleyard, President.
Peter Campbell & Bob Gutsell VPs.
Council advanced NZMRF $90,000 from its funds which will be reimbursed when the Council’s membership make their future donations, plus $10,000 donation from its own funds to complete the value of the recreational fishery project.
2016 AGM in Whangamata – hosted by the Whangamata Ocean Sports Club Inc
Tuna slam to Wayne Bicknell.
Auditor – Tim England.
Constitution, Bylaws and Policy document to be aligned.
Backing Line – agreed by IGFA April 2017.
Governance Training November 10th 2016. No report on progress since.
2017 Nationals sponsored by SIMRAD and ITM. SIMRAD sponsored 2015 and 2016 as well
NZMRF – last project was to establish the value of recreational fishing to our economy. The survey was conducted by Southwick Associates from Florida with the help of John Holdsworth, Rob Southwick, Jeff Romeril, Scott Macindoe, Trish Rea and many others. While the survey was completed, it was unfortunately underfunded and the NZ Marine Research Foundation is still paying off the debt. Regardless of that there was a Symposium held and Barry Torkington presented the findings of the survey which was well received by recreational fishers and others. This was not at the expense of the Council or the NZMRF but covered by the Guardians of the Sea. The peer review of the survey done by Ministry was incomplete because they could not compare it with other aspects of fishing the resource.
Clubs who have joined and disbanded over the last 10 years
Joined since 2007
1: Hibiscus Coast Sports & Leisure Club Inc – 13.01.07
2: Te Aroha Angling Club Inc – 14.04.07
3: Wellington Surfcasting & Angling Club Inc – 12.11.11
4: Matarangi Boat & Fishing Club Inc – 14.07.12
5: Whakatakataka Bay Sport Fishing Club Inc – 14.07.12
6: Bay of Islands Sports & Fishing Club Inc – 26.09.13
7: Maraetai Beach Boating Club Fish and Dive Section – 28.09.13 (1st unincorporated club)
8: Demon Anglers Catching Club Inc – 30.07.14
9: Prospect Fishing Club – 15.11.14 (2nd unincorporated club)
10: Napier Fishing Club – 22.01.15 (3rd unincorporated club)
11: Marsden Cove Fishing Club Inc – 12.07.15
12: Ahipara Gamefish Club – 27.01.15 (4th unincorporated club)
13: Marlborough Rec Fishers Association Inc – 16.07.16
14: Hawkes Bay Sports Fishing Club Inc – left 2015 and rejoined 2016
Left since 2007
1: West Harbour Fishing Club Inc – 2009
2: Cape Egmont Boat Club Inc – 2010
3: Pukemanu Boating & Fishing Club Inc – 2010
4: Twin Harbours Fishing Club Inc – 2012
5: Ngawi Sports Fishing Club Inc – 2012
6: Tangimoana Boating Club Inc – 2012
7: Dinsdale No 1 Fishing Club Inc – 2012
8: Wanganui Manawatu Sea Fishing Club Inc – 2013
9: Chalmers Recreational Sports Fishing Club Inc – 2013
10: Tokoroa Sports Fishing Club Inc – 2015
11: Prospect Fishing Club – 2015
12: Hawkes Bay Sports Fishing Club Inc – 2015
13: Hibiscus Coast Sports & Leisure Club Inc – 2015
14: Hopin Inc – 2016
15: Bay of Islands Sports & Fishing Club Inc – 2016
16: Napier Fishing Club – 2016
Final Thoughts and Comments
Since the History document was written there have been a lot of things attempted, some have come to fruition, some haven’t.
While some Presidents have been mentioned, and others not, all gave of their time for the good of the Council and should be acknowledged for their input.
With the employment with the new Secretary, the new President and Board, the Board is running the Council quite differently. We can only presume the clubs are receiving information and their concerns are being heard. Not being directly involved any more, history information is hard to establish. It has probably always been that way for people outside of the Board but now we are in that situation it has become more obvious. It is important that the Board makes all its business available to our membership.
It is noted the information that is available, comes from the Fisheries Management committee who gets most of its direction from LegaSea. While both LegaSea and the Fisheries Management are sub-committees of the Council they have their own committees with many of these sub-committee positions being filled with people outside of the Council’s appointments which have not been ratified or registered by the Board. Nevertheless it is well documented and they are doing an excellent job looking after the fisheries on the Council’s behalf. However, this situation is outside of the constitution as they both are sub-committees of the Board, and should be taking their direction from the Board, then reporting back to the Board. The way it is working currently leaves our membership with less ability to have input into these meetings and no wonder the Board meetings are shorter with less work to do. LegaSea is not the controlling body over the Council, it is a sub-committee of the Council as is the Fisheries Management sub-committee.
It is very important that the Council works within the rules and regulations of the Council – if not working within the Rules, change them so the members know what’s going on, as we are still a Council of clubs which is where our direction should be coming from.
Finally, since completing this story the Secretary/Executive Officer will have resigned after two years. It is hoped that the Council when re-employing, to fill this position, will do it within the confines of our constitution.
We wish the Council well for the next 60 years and more
