DOC: Keeping Koura / Freshwater Crayfish / Native species

[Romeo]

I emailed DOC querying the legality of keeping and transporting different Koura species around the country.

Have a good read if you plan on keeping native freshwater species.

Romeo":1o5kbzac]Gidday,

I'm looking at purchasing (legally, from a Koura farmer based in Kaikoura) one Northern species of freshwater crayfish for a pet and transporting it to my residence in Canterbury. However, the native species of freshwater crayfish in Canterbury is the southern species.

There's certainly some MAF or DOC regulations which prohibit me keeping a northern species in my fish tank. Can you please direct me to any relevant documentation or to whoever may be of assistance.

Cheers,

xxxxxxxxx xxxxxx

Department of Conservation":1o5kbzac]Hi Alex,

Basically you do not require approval to purchase or get one koura for your home aquarium, as long as your aquarium has no inflows and outflows to a natural waterway. Please ensure also that if you decide you no longer want to keep the koura that you do not release it into a local waterway as this is illegal and DOC obviously would not want any different koura lineages mixing. If you were proposing to move species between islands then you would have required approved.

Thank you very much for checking with the Department about approvals and if you have any further questions please contact your local area office. If you could please maybe just let your local area office know that you are keeping a koura in captivity as some offices keep records of where these species are being held.

For background:

The collection and use of freshwater species is a very complex area that is regulated predominantly by the Department of Conservation, Ministry of Fisheries and Fish & Game. The law draws very fine distinctions between the harvest, taking, collection, possession, sale, transfer and release of freshwater species. Each term has a specific meaning and each agency is responsible for different components. The Department of Conservation's responsibilities arise from its general responsibility to protect indigenous freshwater fisheries, recreational freshwater fisheries and freshwater fish habitats.

Approval is required from the Ministers of Conservation (DOC) under 26ZM (3) and/or Fisheries (Ministry of Fisheries) under 26ZM(2) of the Conservation Act 1987 to transfer and/or release any live aquatic life into freshwater. The terms 'live aquatic life' and "freshwater" are defined in the Conservation Act. The Department of Conservation made a policy decision that section 26ZM(3) of the Conservation Act does not apply to species being transferred or released into artificial aquaria. As far as I am aware you will not require approvals from Ministry of Fisheries or Fish and Game either. Application forms and information are available from your local DOC office.

Amateur fishers (e.g. an individual like yourself) can take their daily bag of 50 koura and use them for whatever purposes they like. This arose from the creation in 2001 of a bag for all species of shellfish not-named under the Amateur Fishing Regulations (eg periwinkles, pupu, etc). The definition of shellfish includes all crustacea, so the regulation now controls all non-commercial taking of koura, copepods, and waterfleas.

So basically anyone can currently take 50 koura per person per day under the Amateur Fishing regulations (that is their recreational entitlement). That is as long as the person taking the koura does not wish sell the koura or anything.

Approvals will be required if people wish to collect koura from a Reserve, Wildlife Refuge or National Park or other land with specific protection for fauna (see s. 38 and 39 Conservation Act, Reserves Act s 50, National Parks Act s 5).

If aquatic species are to be moved between the islands of New Zealand, then approvals must also be requested from the Minister of Fisheries under section 26ZM(2)(b) of the Conservation Act and the Director-General of Conservation under regulation 63 of the Freshwater Fisheries Regulations.

Cheers

xxxxx

PS: Check with your local Iwi if the waterways have either full, joint or partial ownership with any maori tribe or other group (thanks Stella).

If you require email addresses or names for the above DOC representitives, please PM me. The contents of this email are legally confidential, but I have removed all references that are not freely accessable via the DOC website.

Cheers,

Romeo

[Stella]

Thanks for posting this Romeo! Very good info and good on you for making sure you are doing this legally. Some of the laws sound so picky, but there are very good reasons behind them.

One addition that I would make to this as a general legalities guide is that ONLY people from the appropriate Maori tribes may take koura from various Central Nth Island lakes (taupo, rotorua lakes etc).

I do love that legally one may only take 50 daphnia per day. Take care people! :roll: :lol:

[alanmin4304]

Just have to hope that they don't have babiies before the inspector arrives