Kahawai
Challenge Making Headway
Kahawai
Challenge team
March
2005
Kahawai Legal Challenge Update
New Zealand Fishing News
April 2005 edition
After
meeting with the Hesketh Henry Lawyers the team can confirm the
Statement of Claim regarding the Minister of Fisheries 2004 kahawai
decisions will be filed in Court during April. We expect to be
in the High Court by the end of this year. The current challenge
for the participating parties is to finalise affidavits to support
the points being made in the Statement of Claim.
Although
the New Zealand Big Game Fishing Council (NZBGFC) and the New
Zealand Recreational Fishing Council (NZRFC) are the official
applicants in this case, the New Zealand Angling and Casting Association
(NZACA) and option4 are committed to assist these organisations.
We will be putting in maximum effort to protect your interests
in not only kahawai, but all other fisheries we have an interest
in.
Kahawai
Challenge Fund
The
same people who manage the Snapper Fighting Fund are managing
the Kahawai Challenge Fund. The system for managing this fund
is well controlled and monitored by representatives from the NZBGFC,
the NZRFC and option4. The NZBGFC and option4 have committed to
underwriting the Fund with another $25,000 being invested by the
NZBGFC to get the Fund underway.
The
thrust of the campaign to support the Legal Challenge is aimed
at empowering people to do their bit by way of the Kahawai Legal
Challenge Supporters Pack. This gives everyone the opportunity
to raise funds from people they know, people we cannot reach without
the help of ordinary New Zealanders. We cannot afford to run expensive
advertising campaigns to reach out to the general public. As Mark
Feldman put it so aptly in last month's NZ Fishing News, “ we
already pay to run the Ministry of Fisheries, they are supposed
to protect our fish. Now we have to pay twice, once to the taxman
to fund the Ministry and now to the lawyers to protect our fish
from the Ministry”.
When
people realise what is at stake they get stuck in and use the
Supporters Pack to its maximum capacity. We have some real heroes
out there, some who have distributed hundreds of Supporters Packs,
others who have distributed dozens and others who have done what
they can with one or two Packs. Every single Booklet that is completed
counts and is appreciated.
What
if there is no Legal Challenge?
Some
people have asked what will happen to the money in the Kahawai
Challenge Fund if the Legal Challenge does not proceed. The Challenge
will proceed and the priority for any money raised will be paying
the legal fees associated with the case. Next priority is to cover
the campaign costs. There has been a huge investment in Supporter
Packs, attendance at events, printing, advertising, t-shirts and
other material. This needs to be covered by fundraising efforts.
The underwriters of the Challenge will only be paid if there is
sufficient money available to cover the first two priorities.
Maori
Participation
Some
of the Kahawai Legal Challenge team have been working very hard
to engage with Maori interests and the response has been outstanding.
Kahawai is of common interest to both Maori and non-Maori. The
team is receiving warm appreciation and support for the work we
are doing. There are strong indications that affidavits to support
the Statement of Claim will be forthcoming. If ever there was
a finfish species of importance to Maori, recreational and sustenance
fishers, kahawai is it.
Kahawai
Decision Review
The
Minister of Fisheries, David Benson-Pope has indicated there will
be a review of his 2004 kahawai decision later this year. Benson-Pope
would have been aware that better information would be available
this year and even more information about the kahawai fishery
would be finalised by 2006. Despite this he decided to follow
the final advice from his Ministry and ignore our concerns.
This
year's review is likely to go against our interests as the research
will probably show we are not catching as much kahawai as what
the Ministry thought, therefore they will more than likely feel
justified in advising the Minister to reduce our allowance. This
is guaranteed to erode our interests in the kahawai fishery further.
What the Ministry and Minister fail to acknowledge is that as
the biomass (number of fish in the water) decreases, so do our
catches. As our access to kahawai has diminished, so has our catch
rate. Current fisheries management and the kahawai decision have
all acted against our interests; it is time we fought back against
this nonsense of “fisheries management”.
What
is your fishing worth to you and your family? The price of a couple
of dozen beer or a bottle of good wine?
Stand
and Fight
Please
follow through with one or more of the following actions and make
a difference:
- Call 0800
KAHAWAI (52 42 92) to find out more.
- Go to www.kahawai.co.nz
and order your Supporters Pack online.
- Simply
dial 0900 KAHAWAI (52 42 92) to make a $20.00 donation. The
$20 donation will be debited to your phone account. Please do
this more than once.
- Email us
at contact@kahawai.co.nz
. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
This
challenge to the Ministry's short sightedness and folly is vital
and could set a precedent for the future of much more sensible,
sustainable management and recognition of the importance of recreational
fishing.
The
success of this campaign rests with you.
