Kahawai Challenge Update #6 Apr 2005

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Kahawai Challenge Update #6 Apr 2005

Legal Challenge Tracking Well

Kahawai Challenge team

April 2005

Kahawai Legal Challenge Update New Zealand Fishing News

May 2005 edition

The Kahawai Legal Challenge is on track. The legal team met in early March and it is our belief that we have a strong case to argue regarding the Minister's 2004 kahawai decision. We expect the Statement of Claim, complete with a suite of affidavits, will be filed in the High Court by the end of April.

What Next?
The publicity campaign to support the Legal Challenge is about to heat up. Hopefully we will be able to capture more support from the general public, environmental interests, retailers and marine industry players as we generate headlines leading up to the court case expected later in the year. Watch this space.

Your Support
The response from many of you, not only fishing people, has been great. The ability to contribute in such a tangible way by getting involved, taking Support Packs and raising money from your family and friends seems to have struck a chord with so many. This is very heartening for the organisations fully supporting the campaign - the NZ Big Game Fishing Council, the NZ Recreational Fishing Council, the NZ Angling and Casting Association and option4.

Ideally the Support Packs should be in circulation for as long as possible, or at least until they are completed. We have several months and no official deadline as this process is being managed by us (for a change) not the Ministry. If you have any questions, please email or call 0800 KAHAWAI (0800 52 42 92) to discuss them with one of the team.

Finances
Until all the Support Packs are returned we will not know the outcome of the campaign. The returns we have had to date are encouraging, with many positive surprises. There are so many individuals making a huge effort to support this Challenge. We are so glad that people understand this issue is more than just kahawai; it's our fishing future at stake.

What Do We Want?

A judicial review of the Minister's kahawai decision.
The High Court to declare what our non-commercial “interests” are in our fisheries using kahawai as a case study.
To have more fish in the sea so we can catch a reasonable daily bag limit to feed our families.
A rapid rebuild of our kahawai stocks
To have sufficient quota allocated to commercial fishers to cover their unavoidable by-catch.

Reasons

Kahawai is far more valuable to us as an abundant inshore fishery than a fill-in for an off-season commercial purse seine fleet.
The Minister has a duty to consider that our access to kahawai has diminished over time and we will not accept the leftovers.
The Ministry of Fisheries provided the Minister with poor advice on which to base his final decision for allocating kahawai.
We are expected to reduce our catch by 15%.
The Ministry advice proposed a 30% reduction in the tonnage allowed for customary Maori fishers in the most important areas.
We strongly believe that the targeting of whole kahawai schools using spotter planes and purse seine boats to supply low value overseas markets with cheap fish or crayfish bait is not sound fisheries management. It is certainly not in the best interests of most New Zealanders.

Having all six inshore purse seine boats working out of Tauranga has put pressure on kahawai fishery in Area 1 - from North Cape to East Cape - where the majority of us fish. Something has to give.

An unprecedented public response saw over 2000 submissions sent to the Minister last year, the majority of which said there are fewer kahawai around now than before, and they are smaller. We made it abundantly clear that non-commercial fishers will not give away access to our kahawai just to prop up the interests of a few corporates.

The Minister and Ministry of Fisheries obviously have a different interpretation of what the Fisheries Act refers to as our “non-commercial interests”. We are very clear: the Act says the Minister has to allow for our interests, so we want the High Court to use kahawai as a basis for determining this fundamental issue.

Summary
The Quota Management System is being used to deprive the public, including tangata whenua, of this most precious resource: our kahawai. We cannot allow this decision to go unchallenged. It is an injustice to all New Zealanders.

It maybe hard to imagine that one court case has the potential to influence access to all fishing, but it can and should. We believe this future access is worth fighting for. Our children deserve our best efforts now.

Stand and Fight

Please stand with the NZ Big Game Fishing Council, the NZ Recreational Fishing Council, the NZ Angling and Casting Association and option4 as we fight this decision. The power is in your hands to make a difference.

Please:

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.
Visit www.kahawai.co.nz and register your details to be kept informed of any new developments.

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