Chicken carcasses, old sausages and fish guts being used as bait by people fishing for crabs on the New Brighton Pier has concerned some locals on how it’s affecting the beach sea life.

One New Brighton local told Chris Lynch Media she has seen people fishing for crabs off the pier use whole chicken carcasses for bait in the crab pots.

“They also gut the fish they catch, and throw the scraps into the sea. The guts and heads are all thrown in.”

The local says she has lived in New Brighton her whole life and walked the pier on many occasions, and has noticed an increase of people catching crabs, but other sea life has disappeared.

“When I was a child we used to see sea horses, I haven’t seen one for many years.”

Howard Reid, Regional Manager Fish Compliance, Fisheries New Zealand, told Chris Lynch Media there are no fisheries regulations governing the kind of bait recreational fishers can use, regardless of what they’re trying to catch. 

“However, there are restrictions on the number of crabs that can be taken as part of a combined, mixed-species bag limit of 50. 

“Fisheries New Zealand would like to remind people that limits are not a target and to only gather what they need for a feed.”

Last week’s warm weather and more people swimming in the ocean is believed to have contributed to the increase of small shark sightings, but the New Brighton local says there have always been sharks close to shore.

“My son surfs often on New Brighton beach and quite often he will see sharks.

“I have lately seen dead baby sharks with big bites out of them. I walk on the beach most mornings, a shark now and again won’t stop me from swimming.”