Lake O anglers asking fishy questions:

Not surprisingly, after TRM posted the report from the Minister yesterday, the local “Taupo & Turangi News” reports Hunting & Fishing Minister, James Meager, quote: “Meager has also approved several minor regulation changes, designed to simplify the rules and make them easier for anglers to understand. – which included a brief mention of the reopening of Lake Otamangakau in February, TRM received several requests to change booking dates and questions about who TFAC is? etc.

Australian anglers have to be better organised and usually need to book months ahead to gain the most benefit from cheaper flights, so they need to be kept up to date.
They and others also asked about TFAC – who are they and why had they not reported before?  Most had never heard of them.
Other fishos asked why DOC had not mentioned it?  They claimed they could smell something fishy, as it was most unusual for the Hunting & Fishing Minister to make such announcements on their behalf.  They asked, could we remember when this had happened before?  
When we googled TFAC (Taupo Fishing Advisory Council) via DOC, the latest minutes from the 2026 meeting had not been posted.  To enlighten anglers, the comments below are from their 2025 meeting when anglers’ concerns about new regulations on Lake O were mentioned.

The purpose of TFAC is to:

  • facilitate communication between anglers, stakeholders, and DOC
  • advocate Taupō sport fishing interests and ethical standards in angling behaviour
  • advise DOC on freshwater and sport fishing matters within the Taupō District
  • liaise with the NZ Fish and Game Council.

Membership

TFAC comprises twelve members to represent the views of anglers and stakeholders on matters affecting the management of the Taupō fishery. All appointments are made by the Minister on nomination from:

  • Advocates for the Tongariro River Inc
  • Motuoapa Fishing and Boating Club
  • NZ Professional Fishing Guides’ Association
  • Taupō Commercial Launchmen’s Association
  • Taupō Fishing Club
  • Tongariro & Lake Taupō Anglers’ Club
  • Tongariro National Trout Centre Society
  • Waitahanui Angling Improvement Association
  • Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board
  • National angling interests
  • New Zealand Fish and Game Council
  • Appropriate Conservator of the Department

TFAC meets at least three times a year to discuss issues that impact anglers within the Taupō Fishing District. An agenda is generated a week before a meeting and made available to committee members and the angling community. (?)

Communications and community.

James Barnett

Technical information gathered from our fishery monitoring work made up a significant proportion of our communications outputs during this period. The Taupō fishery management team has an enviable track record when it comes to fishery monitoring data, with records going back over half a century. It is important to celebrate this information and ensure anglers understand the investment we make as fishery managers and how the data from various monitoring studies come together to provide a valuable insight into the fishery. This, in turn, enables good fishery management decisions and allows us to make informed regulation changes.

As an example, we responded to concerns from a small number of anglers about the February closure at Lake Otamangakau. A focused story was carried in the February edition of our newsletter, Taupō Fishery Focus, exploring the technical aspects underpinning the decision and stating why it remains an important solution to protect the long-term sustainability of the Lake as a trophy trout fishery.

Technical update

Mark Venman

Over the summer period fishery technical monitoring work has continued with a focus on Lake Taupō. In mid-summer we generated a short snapshot of progress with our Creel survey programme, which has been shared with anglers. As summer comes to an end, we are still gathering this data, so we are not yet able to share a complete report with committee members.

For the purposes of this meeting, we have provided the committee with a comprehensive review of Lake Otamangakau. This is particularly relevant given the February closure and some comments that have been received from a small section of the angling community which should be addressed (Appendix 2).

TRM inmates are not the only anglers concerned about the lack of communication from TFAC – i.e.

Taupo Fishing Club


Riverstone Fly Fishing Guides
May I suggest that, as a representative of the Taupō Fishing Club and one of the few groups speaking on behalf of licence holders, it would be beneficial to provide a summary of the TFAC meeting discussions along with a link to the official minutes once they are published. From a governance and transparency standpoint, the limited representation at these meetings—combined with the lack of publicly available information on what is discussed or decided—remains an ongoing concern.