Kahawai
– time to stand up and fight for a fair go
NZ Fishing News
April 2004
Kahawai are about to be introduced into the Quota Management
System. option4 have serious concerns that once again the Ministry of
Fisheries (MFish) is putting the interests of commercial fishers above
the rights of the public to access this fishery.
If you think the kahawai fishery is in bad shape now you will be outraged
at the Ministry of Fisheries latest proposal. Not only do the Ministry
believe there is no scarcity of kahawai, they also do not accept there
is conflict between commercial and non-commercial fishers in this fishery.
Why the Outrage?
option4, NZ Big Game Fishing Council and NZ Recreational Fishing Council
met with the Ministry on Friday 2 April 2004, to discuss the introduction
of kahawai into the Quota Management System. We walked into the meeting
feeling we had extremely strong points to make. The Ministry made it
clear that as far as they are concerned –
It is hard to believe the sort of thinking that suggests that purse
seining had been good for this fishery.
It appears to us MFish are going to write off our concerns about the
decline in kahawai schools as anecdotal. Why are they anecdote? Because
the Ministry has not conducted the science to prove one way or the other
whether what we are saying is true or not. This means that anecdote
is all we have. The reason for this is that the Ministry is either too
tight-fisted or too worried about the outcome if they go and investigate
our claims. We now have the Ministry openly declaring they do not believe
us.
Even if they did believe us, they –
-
do not accept
there is any scarcity of kahawai
-
conveniently
forget they had to massively reduce the commercial catch limits in
the 1990s out of concern for plummeting non commercial catches and
the disappearance of surface schools
-
fail to admit
the fishery has not rebuilt since the 1990s and catch rates continue
to decline, as has the size of the fish and the number of schools
-
do not accept
there has been an adverse impact on seabirds, kingfish and other dependant
species.
If the Ministry won't listen to and address our concerns then it is
clearly becoming a political decision. Our concerns are being ignored
and put down as being in the imaginations of the non- commercial fishers.
The kahawai fishery may eventually be reduced to half of the current
low level. If we allow this fishery to be managed at maximum sustainable
yield then a stock size of 20% the unfished stock will be their management
target. The Ministry proposal will allow the kahawai stocks to continue
to fall by 60% before these excessive quotas are reduced. This is totally
unacceptable.
The purse seine catch history will generate thousands of tonnes of quota
developed through plundering this fishery to the detriment of all other
users. Recreational leaders believe that using unsustainable target
fishing as the basis for allocating quota is unfair and unjust and they
are demanding that this catch history must not be used for allocating
quota. It was generated at the expense of the rights of other users.
The Ministry's proposal will inevitably inflame the already high level
of conflict between commercial and non commercial fishers as the public
witness the ongoing disappearance of this fishery. Ministry fails to
mention, let alone address, this inevitable consequence of their proposal
Once quota is allocated there is no agreed upon process for adjusting
the non-commercial share in the future. Allocation decisions made now
will be the basis of indefinite argument. We may well find ourselves
stuck with what we get today through this process.
Ministry are
-
not talking
about rebuilding the fishery
-
not talking
about leaving it where it currently is
-
continuing
to fish the stock down lower than it already is
-
continuing
to aggravate the conflict between non-commercial and commercial fishers
-
ignoring a
highly valued recreational fishery by supporting a low value purse
seine fishery
-
not meeting
their obligations by omitting to not having an agreed harvest strategy
explaining their objectives for the kahawai fishery.
We get the strong impression this is all about putting kahawai into
the Quota Management System and then letting the stakeholders fight
it out downstream so the Crown can -
-
avoid allocation
scandals such as we have seen with scampi
-
escape compensation
issues if it has over allocated to the commercial sector
-
avoid having
to make management decisions.
It is clear this is a contentious issue. It would appear that the path
of least resistance for the Ministry is to add up current utilisation
(what we are all catching) and call that sustainable for expediency,
regardless of the impact on all non-commercial fishers. This will also
leave us battling with a $1.5 billion fishing industry for a greater
non-commercial share after they have been issued their excessive quota
property rights.
Commercial fishers should be able to land kahawai bycatch. It is the
industrial fishing method using spotter planes and purse seine vessels
to target whole schools that has done the damage. It is this method
that should not be issued quota.
Make no mistake; the proposal as it stands will effectively steal the
fish from the 1,000,000 non commercial fishers to prop up a handful
of commercial fishing companies who target kahawai; companies who think
its better to annihilate your kahawai to feed an Australian cat or a
crayfish than leave it alone and risk you catching it to feed your family.
Obviously the Ministry of Fisheries hold the same view
PLEASE, log on to https://option4.co.nz/Updates_and_Alerts/alert6form.php
, and add your voice to a growing wave of public distaste for the
kahawai management proposals.
Thank you for the generous donations. Please keep them coming.
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