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Media Release - Kahawai Decision
NZRFC
and NZBGFC
15
August 2004
Kahawai decision
appals recreational fishers
The New Zealand Recreational
Fishing Council representing some 300,000 associated members and
the wider public who fish for food, is disappointed that the Minister
of Fisheries has failed the public in his recent kahawai decision.
The Recreational Fishing
Council supports its respected affiliate NZ Big Game Fishing Council
- a council of 33,000 members- who have expressed their deep concern
about the current state of the kahawai fishery and are totally dismayed
by Minister Benson- Popes response, announced this week.
The decision to drop the
total available catch by 15% will only affect non-commercial fishers
despite assurances by the minister that all sectors are affected.
Commercial fishing companies will actually be able to take more
than they have over the previous two seasons and their 15% reduction
has unbelievably been taken from their past historical catch. Catch
taken when the fish where more plentiful and by targeting with purse
seine vessels that have contributed greatly to the current demise
of the fishery.
Now the Minister is suggesting
that the non commercial fisher have to face reductions to their
bag limit, to help rebuild the fishery, while commercial fishing
continues on its merry way. The bag drops to be effective will be
considerable, because very few fishers take any where near the current
limit of 20.
The message sent to the Minister
and his Ministry by thousands of concern fishers has been completely
misunderstood and the real issues ignored. The kahawai should belong
to the people of NZ as the most accessible fish with important cultural
and social links instead the stock has been squandered on low value,
marginally viable commercial operations. The justification to keep
126 part time factory hands employed just does not wash when purse
seine catches for other species have increased dramatically over
recent years.
The NZRFC and NZBGFC believe
that the decision to reduce the recreational catch by 15% and the
commercial quotas set will do nothing to rebuild the kahawai stocks.
Had the Minister set the allowable commercial catch to levels sufficient
for by catch only but not targeting the public would have set about
rebuilding the fishery in a positive manner by recommending far
more self constraint. How can we now recommend this to the public
when all they are doing is propping up the commercial fishery, with
a vague chance of a rebuild. The allowable commercial catch the
minister set is 3335 tonnes which is 335 tonnes greater than the
national commercial kahawai catch in the 2002/03 fishing year and
765 tonnes greater than the national commercial catch in 2001/02.
Recreational fishers will play their part to restore wide spread
kahawai schools to the coastal landscape but will not support a
low value commercial target fishery, mostly for bait, cat food and
fish meal.
The Ministers decision is
all about allocation based on catch history and does nothing to
help maximize the value all New Zealanders obtain from this fishery
by having vibrant kahawai fishery in our harbour's, river mouths
and large schools of fish at sea.
Keith Ingram
PRESIDENT NZRFC
keith@skipper.co.nz
Jeff Romeril
PRESIDENT NZBGFC
Contact -Ph 09 4240087 mbl
021 573474
romeril@attglobal.net
Ross Gildon
KAHAWAI SPOKESPERSON
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