Birds die in unsecured fishing net

Shakespear Park rangers had to pick up 166 dead birds in a set-net last weekend.More than 100 dead birds in a washed-up set-net were found by Shakespear Regional Park visitors last weekend. Duty ranger Steve Burgess was notified of the nets strewn across the park's popular sandy beach Te Haruhi Bay."Tangled in the net were 166 seabirds and 11 kahawai," Mr Burgess says."The birds, which were fluttering shearwaters, were either already dead or close to dying when found and we have had to dispose of them."Dealing with such a significant kill of native wildlife is not a fun task for those of us working on the park, and it can be quite distressing for visitors," he says.Principal ranger Mathew Vujcich says his team alerted the Conservation Department and the Fisheries Ministry. He hopes it does not happen again."This net had no identification and was insecurely anchored," he says.The Auckland Regional Council is appealing to set-netters to act responsibly and follow the set-net code of practice.Set-nets are common on the region's east coast, and poor netting practices can catch seabirds or marine mammals.Poor netting can result in fish wastage, unwanted fish species caught, and lost nets that continue to fish and catch wildlife, like the one found at Shakespear.A set-net ban applies at Arkles Bay on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula and may be extended to other areas if set-netters continue to flout rules.Editor Geoff Dobson and eldest son Eli hit a set-net strung across part of Te Haruhi Bay this summer while snorkelling out to a shipwreck off the bay's eastern point.Set-net codeA set-net code of practice includes:• Any net or nets used either individually or jointly must not extend more than a quarter of the way across any bay, channel, river, stream or sound•Nets must not be set in a way that causes fish to be stranded by the falling tide• The use of stakes to secure nets is prohibited•Each end of a net must have a surface buoy permanently and legibly marked with the fisher's initials and surname• Set-nets must not exceed 60 metres in length•Only one set net up to 60 metres and one bait net up to 10 metres, with a mesh size of 50mm or less, can be carried on a boat at any one time• Nets must not be set within 60 metres of another net. By CARALISE MOORE