Predictable maybe Hangler but worthy of discussion. You cant just ignore torpedo fishers and say they catch few snapper. Get off the Marine Parade and go and meet some of the real keen torpedo fishers that work the beaches to the north of Napier. Go to Mohaka in the spawning season and see the carnage that happens there with torpedoes every year. Your mates at the Drain are not typical. Many others are fishing at night. One guy I spoke to who had a trailer set up for his torpedo fishing told me he only fished at night and that if people knew how many snapper he caught then torpedoes would be banned. He caught five when I watched all over 5kgs.
Torpedoes aside the Hauraki fishery, the Kaipara, BOI and waters to the north are all vulnerable to overfishing for snapper. By many methods recreational and commercial.
I like the idea of a larger minimum size (say 40cms) but I would like some facts released on snapper spawning sizes before any changes are made. Surely they have to give us some data to justify their moves. Have the decision makers checked out the sizes of mature snapper. Do the big ones (over 10kgs) have a part in the spawning process? Do the little ones (under a kilo) have a part in it? Other than future potential.
How about restricting commercial snapper fishing to the longline fishery where fish can be targetted and released if undersized or unwanted.

Hangler, I am not having a go at you its just that you seem so definite as if there is no other way than yours and that anything others say doesnt count. You must agree that there is a lot more to Hawkes Bay and snapper fishing than the Marine Parade in Napier. Have a look around at the spots where the snapper are common. As Andy said, Whirinaki Reef, also Te Awanga Reef and Straight, Araparanui, Waipatiki Mohaka, The Gap at Westshore, Waikare or even the boiler at Westshore. Not all great snapper spots are a long way off. If you accept that the "Bay" is Kidnappers to Mahia then you must also take in the beaches of Whakaki, Tahainui and Blacks beach as well as all the rock spots from Mahia to Portland. There are plenty of places for a snapper to hide.
Anyone who makes the effort can catch a few snapper every year, maybe not a dozen a day every day but then who wants to do that.