West Coast Regional Council staff have been out across the region this month preparing for the 2024 whitebait season.

Compliance staff visited the Paringa and Haast rivers last week to mark out and map whitebait stands with GPS to ensure uniformity for stand holders.

WCRC Regulatory & Policy Group Manager Jocelyne Allen says the assessment helps ensure consistent boundaries.

“Where stands are on braided rivers compliance staff have helped mark out stand locations as there’s likely to have been movement in the river since the previous season.”

WCRC issues resource consents for whitebait stands on 23 rivers across the West Coast.

Whitebait stands are classed as temporary structures. They can be built no more than 15 days before the season starts and must be removed within 15 days of it ending.

Between 15 August and 30 October over 650 resource consents are authorised for the construction and maintenance of whitebait stands on West Coast rivers.

Stand owners must comply with all conditions of their resource consent, as well as the relevant requirements in Schedule 17 of the West Coast Regional Council Land and Water Plan which outlines the management of whitebait stands and Department of Conservation rules and regulations.

A resource consent for a whitebait stand has an annual monitoring fee of $230 including GST. Stand consent holders must also pay an annual administration charge of $132.25 (including GST) for each individual whitebait stand consent file. WCRC invoices will be sent out next week.

The WCRC compliance team will continue to monitor whitebaiting rivers during the season, visiting twice over the next two months to ensure stand owners are observing consent conditions and complying with procedures.

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