Fishing
Industry Pays Small Price for Consistently
Abusing
Quota Allocations
Media
Release
14
June 2007
Over eleven
hundred tonnes of west coast snapper have been taken in excess of
sustainable quota limits since the introduction of the quota management
system. That equates to over one million fish - a profit
for commercial fishers of over three million dollars.
Recreational
fishing groups are outraged continued commercial over-fishing threatens
the sustainability of the North Island's depleted west coast snapper
stock. It is a profit-making abuse of the deeming system by the
fishing industry.
Deeming is
the mechanism by which commercial fishermen can land extra catch
over their quota entitlement as long as they pay a monetary penalty
to the government. Last year in the North Island west coast area
‘Snapper 8', over 134 tonnes of snapper were deemed in excess of
sustainable limits.
“By any measure
commercial fishers are reaping handsome rewards for selfishly exploiting
a mechanism meant to help them land accidental catch. This
selfishness denies recreational and customary fishers a chance to
provide fish for the table, “said Paul Barnes, Project Leader of
option4.
option4,
a group representing non-commercial fishing interests, are appalled
that snapper are being targeted and landed in excess of the industry's
quota allocation. This was in spite of the Minister of Fisheries'
2005 decision to cut catches to rebuild the depleted Snapper 8 fishery.
Recently
released figures show that since 1988 commercial fishermen have
regularly exceeded their west coast catch limits for snapper.
Last year they landed 1434 tonnes against a quota entitlement of
1300 tonnes.
“Deeming
was originally designed to allow accidental over-catch to be landed,”
continued Paul Barnes, “it certainly wasn't intended to give the
fishing industry an opportunity to ignore sustainability decisions
to rebuild shared fisheries like Snapper 8. If those extra fish
had been left in the water they would have grown and spawned and
this depleted snapper fishery would be well on the way to recovery.”
It is a major
concern to option4 that commercial fishers are not being effectively
constrained by quota in a fishery that is so important to recreational
fishermen. The fishing industry, in greedily taking excess fish
now, is causing a serious risk for the fishery, future fishing opportunities
and well being of all New Zealanders.
Richard Baker
of the New Zealand Big Game Fishing Council agrees, “The cost to
non-commercial fishers of over-fishing quotas has been immense.
A whole generation of New Zealanders has not experienced this west
coast fishery at more than half the sustainable level prescribed
by our fisheries laws. If the chronic abuse of the deemed value
system continues to go unchecked they are not likely to ever see
a healthy, well managed fishery”.
Paul Haddon,
fisheries representative for Ngapuhi on the Hokianga Accord, the
mid north iwi fisheries forum, echoes the need for more sustainable
management of our fisheries. He says that, “the Hokianga Accord
has recently supported the Minister's call for a precautionary approach
for vulnerable fisheries like Snapper 8 where sustainability is
threatened by commercial overfishing. Many people on the west coast
from Wellington to the far north depend on access to kai moana to
feed their children and mokopuna. We will not stand by and watch
the fishing industry take more fish than is viable.”
In 1998 the
then Minister of Fisheries, John Luxton, reduced total commercial
catch limits to rebuild the Snapper 8 fishery within ten years.
This was considered necessary because the snapper stock had slumped
to seriously low levels and sustainability was at risk.
By 2005 it
was obvious this rebuild was not occurring so the present Minister,
Jim Anderton, reduced the catch limits again. Recreational and customary
fishermen also had their allowances reduced, largely because of
the lack of constraint on the fishing industry.
It is now
very clear that the commercial fishing industry's blatant disregard
for the long-term sustainability is a significant factor
preventing a timely rebuild in the Snapper 8 fishery.
ENDS
Contacts
Paul Barnes
option4
09 8182146
Richard Baker
New Zealand
Big Game Fishing Council
021 869889
Paul Haddon
Ngapuhi Representative
09 4019362
Back to Deemed Values index page here >> >>
TOP
|
