Tighter snapper limits for recreational fishers that take effect today is proving a mixed bag among the Bay of Plenty fishing community.

From today snapper bag limits for recreational fishers are reduced from nine to seven per day, with the minimum size rising from 27- 30cm.

Rose Vercoe with her 5.2kg snapper caught during the Tauranga Game Fishing Club's Bridgeman Concrete Fish n' Chicks Tournament.

These new limits apply to all recreational fishers in the Snapper 1 region – including North Cape and the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Commercial fishers can still take 25cm snapper and their total catch limit remains unchanged at 4500 tonnes. There are no changes to the bag limits minimum legal sizes outside the area.

The Ministry for Primary Industries announced the restrictions in a long term plan to improve New Zealand's most valuable inshore finfish fishery. The changes will help improve the sustainability of snapper stocks and are part of a larger SNA1 management programme, says the ministry.

MPI says gentle handling and careful return of unwanted or undersized fish contributes to the sustainability of the fishery through increasing survival rates.

Tauranga Game Fishing Club acting president Ian Thomas says little advertising is being done as all members are aware of the changeover rule – something the club has been supportive of since discussions first began last year.

'Most of our members are aware of it and are happy with the result,” says Ian.

'You have to start somewhere and if this is the way and they [MPI] are looking at commercial ways in the future then that's good.”

As a collective the club aims to throw back anything smaller than 30, with snapper fillets on the fish 'twice the size” of that of the previous 27cm, says Ian.

'There is lots of fish out there and there is no need to take these small fish.”

Recreational fishing advocacy group LegaSea is also calling on amateur fishers to comply with the new snapper bag and size limits, even though many believe they are unfair.

LegaSea spokesperson Richard Baker says many recreational fishers are concerned the measures they are being asked to take will simply not achieve conservation and enhancement of the fishery.

'There is no evidence of any meaningful changes to commercial behaviour. The same trawlers responsible for high juvenile and bycatch rates are still ploughing the snapper fishery,” says Richard.

According to LegaSea, snapper stocks in the Bay are considered to be severely depleted and the new regulations will hit locals hard.

While recreational fishers do not deliberately target small fish, concerns are high that snapper returned to the water may be mortally wounded, creating unnecessary waste.

Mount Maunganui resident Adam El-Agez, LegaSea spokesperson during last year's Save Our Snapper campaign, says many fish are being wasted, dumped and discarded by the commercial fleet.

'Some locals are disgusted at having to limit their take-home catch when they can see commercial trawling and the Danish seine fleet from their kitchen window,” says Adam.

'What's more, there has been no change to the bulk harvesting methods that legally slaughter millions of juvenile snapper under 25cm only to get shovelled back into the sea. These fish are not accounted for in the quota system.”