The recreational scallop season in the Bay of Plenty will officially open today.

The season will also be open in the Auckland/Coromandel area with bag limits extending on the east coast of Cape Rodney around the Coromandel Peninsula to Homunga Point, at the northern end of Waihi Beach, and on the west coast of Okiritoto River, Muriwai Beach, to the sandpit at Port Waikato.

Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Northland district compliance manager Darren Edwards says fishers should familiarise and update themselves with the regulations when planning their fishing trip.

'It is important for fishers to know their daily entitlements and any specific restrictions on target species.”

The legal bag limit for scallops in this area is twenty per fisher per day.

In addition, divers are entitled to take an amount equivalent to an extra daily bag for each of up to two safety people on board a boat — provided they are acting as safety people for the
divers.

'The minimum legal size of scallops in the Auckland and Kermadec Area is 100 millimetres measured across the widest part of the shell.

'It is important for each fisher to count and measure their scallops.”

The scallop season in this area closes on March 31, 2013.

The closure allows scallops to spawn without being disturbed.

'Fishery Officers will again be actively patrolling Northland waters this scallop season but cannot be everywhere so we will be asking for the public's assistance. If you see people taking more than the legal limit, you should report them by calling 0800 4 POACHER (0800 476 224).”