Date:  24 September 2021

For added convenience the DOC Taupō Fishery Team has worked alongside the Lake Rotoaira Trust to make these new licences available online from the Taupō fishery website.

As part of the 2017 Tūwharetoa Deed of Settlement, redress provisions provide for Lake Rotoaira Trust to sell fishing licences for the Lake, and this has now been enacted.

Lake Rotoaira Trust chairman John Hura believes it is a step worth celebrating.

“We’re ecstatic to have reached this milestone after years of work, alongside the Department of Conservation (DOC) and our shareholders. The simplified process is undoubtedly a positive step forward,” he says.

The new Lake Rotoaira licences will simplify the previous system, which required anglers to have both a DOC Taupō Fishery Licence and a Lake Rotoaira access permit. A Taupō fishery licence will no longer be necessary.

“The outcome of this permit process aims to make the season more affordable, and accessible, for many groups,” John Hura says. 

DOC Operations Manager for the Taupō fishery, Dave Conley has worked closely with Lake Rotoaira Trust to create a smooth management transition at this popular fishing venue.

“We want to help ensure the Rotoaira fishery thrives, and anglers can easily get access to a fishing licence. Lake Rotoaira provides excellent angling opportunities and being so close to Lake Otamangakau it can be a great alternative fishery.

“While the fishery may be under a new licencing regime, it still sits within the geographical boundaries of the Taupō Fishing District, so our existing online licence store seemed the ideal platform to offer the new Rotoaira Licences.

“We look forward to a productive ongoing relationship with the Lake Rotoaira Trustees and seeing the fishery thrive under the new licencing regime,” Dave Conley concluded..

The new Rotoaira licence only entitles anglers to fish at Lake Rotoaira. A Taupō Fishery licence is required to fish elsewhere in the Taupō Fishing District.

Lake Rotoaira Fishing licences are available online 

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