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Regional | Fish

Gallery: Website aims to stop the waste of kaimoana

A well-known fishing personality, Matt Watson has started a website in an effort to stop wastage and fish frames piling up on beaches in NZ.

90 mile beach resident, Naomi Austen-Reid highighted the issue recently after discovering piles of entire snapper heads and frames as well as what looked to be undersized Paua shells discarded on the beach a few days ago.

An angry post and photos loaded to Facebook sparked an outcry and further interest in who was responsible for the wastage.

ITM Fishing Show presenter, Matt Watson, experienced first-hand the dumping of snapper frames on a beach by a kontiki user.

Matt says “A lot of this is caused by recreational fishers that use kontikis.”

Ministry for Primary Industries Senior Communications Adviser, Jim Flack also believes fish remains left on beaches are linked to recreational fishing and not commercial fishing.

For many NZ’ers, eating fish heads can be a displeasing thought, however Matt knows all too well that fish shouldn’t be wasted.

“I eat the heads myself and so do my kids”, says Matt.

Matt has now created a website called 'Free Fish Heads' which encourages recreational fishers to give their fish heads to people that may want them.

For further information on the 'Free Fish Heads' website click here.