| NZRFC
Kahawai Submission
Letter
to Minister
April
2004
16 April 2004
The Minister of Fisheries
Parliament Buildings
Wellington.
Good afternoon Minister,
Attached is our submission
on the introduction of Kahawai into the Quota Management System
on October 1 2004.
We are aware that some of
our National Members, Regional Members, option 4, and many clubs,
and individual members have also submitted on this very important
species to our sector. We obviously support these other submissions
and wish them to be taken in context with our own submission.
We don't envy your job, especially
with your new appointment to role, but request that you read and
take note of the many concerns that have been raised involving this
fishery over the past thirty to forty years. We have insisted that
our members contain their frustrations while they have watched the
kahawai fishery decline. The protests have even involved a vessel
motoring into set purse seine net to try and show the vessel skipper
and crew their opposition to their method of fishing and destruction
of our important kahawai fishery.
We are also aware of other
vessels who have given up a days fishing to sit on top of a kahawai
school to prevent a purse seine vessel shooting their net and taking
the school.
The management of the kahawai
fishery is not just a science issue, the decision that is made on
the introduction of kahawai into the QMS is going to be a real political
hot potato, and as we have stated in our submission we will not
give one inch until we get our kahawai fishery back.
We hope that you are able
to attend our Annual General meeting in Whangarei and by then you
may have had the opportunity to read our submissions and make some
comments as to how you see the fishery being managed in the future.
Thank you for allowing us
to make comment on how we see the issues affecting this fishery
and we await your decision with interest.
Ross Gildon
President.
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