livingart Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 i've got a couple of legal sized snapper wanted to know if they are legal to keep? anyone got any ideas on their growthrate as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.PROPHECY Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 i new a guy who use to have them , but duno if it was legal he said they grow fairly fast if feed well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted April 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 only ever kept youngsters before, i know you can't catch any undersize quota fish and then keep it in a tank but i thought if it is legal to take and eat, then should be okay to keep alive in a tank got to build up the food stock in the tank for when the sharks arrive 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gannet Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 so thts wat bj was doing went i left aye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted April 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 should have stuck around 10 nice size snapper, big trevally, yum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldogod Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 lol, yeah youd think that if ya can catch em to eat, you can keep em alive but who knows, theres strange and silly laws we suposed to abide to :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted April 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 yeah you can't sell it if you catch it as well unless you have a licence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Years ago when my son was small he set up a cold water marine, 3 foot, and stocked it with stuff he collected around rock pools etc. One day he was fishing at the wharf and caught a tiny snapper so he came a real fast trip home and put it in the tank. It was illegal, (yes I'll admit it), but it seemed to adapt to tank life straight away and just cruised around the tank looking for stuff to eat. No trouble getting it to eat it would eat anything. But it had a tremendous appetite and grew very fast, only a few months and it was getting too big for the tank. We took a trip to the beach and released it, it seemed to sense it was free at last, and just streaked out to sea till we couldn't see it. My son shed a few tears. I'm told it would not have survived as it would not have learned survival skills, but I'm not so sure, it was a true survivor. Very curious, keen to try to eat anything new, and always looking around, I think it might have made it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMAZONIAN Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Hi all Yes it is "LEGAL" to keep Snapper that are of legal size. That applies to any marine fish on the MAF list in NZ. It is illegal to be in possession or keep undersized fish though. The water changes that a snapper needs is huge, I had a mate who was a commercial fisherman that kept 4 of them in a 10,000 litre concrete tank that was modified so as you could see them. He had to pipe water 200 metres to keep it going. He also had seahorses and scallops in there as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babyfish Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 It is legal to catch and eat 27cm snapper however it is very illegal to keep any live snapper without a permit. which costs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted April 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 It is legal to catch and eat 27cm snapper however it is very illegal to keep any live snapper without a permit. which costs! thanks, do you have a link or reference to that section of law please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Used to keep tiny snapper, until, like Wasp, they use to get too big, and aggressive, and I'd release them back into the ocean. Illegal, yes, will a MAF officer find out and raid your tank, unlikely, and poor form if they did. Was worth the risk, as kept baby trevally, snapper, maomao, red moki, kahawai etc, Watch your snapper though, put a lovely baby blue maomao in one day, only to watch one of the snapper bit its head straight off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 It is legal to catch and eat 27cm snapper however it is very illegal to keep any live snapper without a permit. which costs! My understanding is once the fish is over the legal size and caught in a legal way then you are free to do with it what you wish. The restrictions on recreational fishers are relatively simple. The three main things to remember are: * Don’t take more than the daily limit * Don’t take undersized fish * Don’t sell or trade your catch nothing about keeping them alive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Nothing is stopping you from catching legal sized fish and throwing them into a tank of sharks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 Nothing is stopping you from catching legal sized fish and throwing them into a tank of sharks. 1 thing is. I don't have a tank of sharks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Varanophile Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 I looked after a tank that was part of the bar table at FINZ restaurant and oyster bar in auckland- viaduct in 2002. Thay had 12 undersize snapper, 6 mao mao and undersize cray from Hawkes Bay Aquaculture. Thay had no permit and they never got in trouble. They died eventually as no chiller on the tank. The snapper grew very fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 poor things - should have reported you to the SPCA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted April 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 ran a saltwater tank in a restaurant here for a few years, had trouble with the water temp so i ran the sump return line through one of the bar chillers, no problems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Watch your snapper though, put a lovely baby blue maomao in one day, only to watch one of the snapper bit its head straight off. Yes a baby blue maomao would be an awesome fish, but I've never been able to find where the baby ones are. Where do the baby ones hang out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted April 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Yes a baby blue maomao would be an awesome fish, but I've never been able to find where the baby ones are. Where do the baby ones hang out? around the seaweed beds and wharves, elusive and hide as soon as a big shape arrives, when you catch them at 5 to 10mm the ones with red spots on the belly are blue mao mao the others are sweep at about 20 mm the blue mao mao have a yellow belly had 3 at 20cm in the big tank a beautiful powder blue from above, sadly the black shag ate them so have to catch some more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puttputt Posted April 4, 2008 Report Share Posted April 4, 2008 Yes a baby blue maomao would be an awesome fish, but I've never been able to find where the baby ones are. Where do the baby ones hang out? In the rock pools at Muriwai beach. You'll need a low low tide, and no significant swell (about 5 days a year!!). Have caught and keep from these: Baby Red Moki, baby maomao, small bigeye, sole, scarlet parrot fish, hiwihiwi, leaf fish, loads of different triplefins and blennies etc etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted April 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2008 have also found 7 different types of weedfish as well, 2 not classified yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy Posted April 18, 2008 Report Share Posted April 18, 2008 hi livingart, where in tauranga do you catch the blue maomao? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted April 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2008 pilot bay, coronation wharf and sulphur point small hook, take off barb to catch bigger ones burley and a net for the babies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 just out of curiousity LivingArt what do you feed the sweep/maomao? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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