Following the recent social media traffic about someone silly enough to give Christian Asher a hard time for keeping his legal limit bag, just out of curiosity we decided to check the regulations. This is not recommended. Instead, I discovered that SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed is the Manager of Everything at TRM) has been in breach of the rules and regulations now for over twenty years. As such, it is only fair to warn others. i.e.
Evidence: A guilty SWMBO with Her “meals on wheels” gift of trout for a neighbour’s birthday bash.
The rules state: No gifts of trout
(1) A person must not give, and a manager or person in charge of any commercial freezing chamber or commercial smokehouse must not receive, any trout in exchange or as a full or partial consideration for the storage or any preservation or treatment of any trout.
(2) A person who contravenes this regulation commits an infringement offence and is liable to—
(a) an infringement fee of $800; or
(b) a fine imposed by a court not exceeding $1,600.
Regulation 27(2): inserted, on 3 February 2020, by regulation 48 of the Conservation (Infringement Offences in Regulations) Amendment Regulations 2019 (LI 2019/326).
A TRM angler’s chilly bin is typical of the takeaway traffic from TRM every weekend.
OK? TRM often has frozen trout left behind for any number of reasons and these are distributed to the poor and needy – aka TRM inmates. It has happened to everyone at some time or other when they promise their neighbour or a friend to take back a trophy specimen Taupo delicacy to give away or swop for whitebait or to cheer up the in-laws, whatever.
That is usually the signal to the fishing gods – the trigger to make sure you do not land any and for them to make sure you are going home with an empty chilly bin. But the issue for TRM is much bigger than your personal problem. We have a responsibility to maintain the world-wide high reputation of the mighty Tongariro River and have always kept a supply available for emergencies.
Based on the volume in TRM’s (locked!) chest freezer we estimate the usual turnover is about x per week x 52 x 20 years = about 20,000 trout @ $10 each suggests at least $200,000 value. Taupo trout are more sought after resulting in a much higher value due to their superb condition factor – compared to the skinny pathetic examples from other NZ waters. Just compare their diet. Fish are what they eat. Taupo trout are raised in the largest lake in NZ cruising around on a steady diet of whitebait (smelt) and Koura (baby crayfish or crawlies) compared to the unlucky trout in other regions struggling to survive on a miserable diet of tiny insects and bugs. They have to taste far better.
Christian Asher’s recent limit bag.
Their condition and size are undisputed. The latest trap results from the winter spawning run up the Tongariro River confirm an average weight of over five pounds. That is world-class. So as the demand for top quality increases, so does the market price.
All SWMBO was trying to do was to please Her customers and encourage them back again. But if She is going to get fined… Well… She probably owes Treasury about $1 million by now. I wonder if they will accept a cheque?
TRM’s smoker is limited to about 15 trout to manage a turnover of about 3-4 times daily.
For any export orders please address your requirements to SWMBO and pay Ross directly to his bank account.
Photos below of the good old days at Taupo…and the fishery thrived!
