Now
and for the Future
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Frequently
Asked Questions |
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| Questions about Fisheries Management Only
some of these questions have been blessed with an answer yet. |
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| Why not close the snapper fishery during the spawning season? | ||
| Then
there would be more fish able to spawn, more eggs in the water and
more fish in the future. The simple answer is that more eggs does
not mean more fish will survive from that breeding season. Explanation
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| What is taiapure? | ||
| Taiapure, translated literally as "a coastal patch" is one of the means by which the government has acknowledged that Maori, as tangata whenua, are entitled to have rangatiratanga over their fisheries (amongst other natural resources), as guaranteed by Article II of the Treaty of Waitangi. More detail... | ||
| What do we think about 50 new species being introduced to the Quota Management System? | ||
| NZBGFC Submission to the Ministry of Fisheries......click here | ||
| What are the Fisheries Plans? | ||
| Fisheries plans will provide an opportunity for customary values to be recognised, not just in respect of traditional fisheries, but also in terms of the management of the resource as a whole. Fisheries plans will also provide greater flexibility to respond to local initiatives so that those directly involved in a fishery can determine how best to manage the fishery. Fisheries management decisions will continue to be made by the Minister on an annual basis. More detail.... | ||
| Are more Marine reserves a good option to help build up depleted stocks. How about a rotation type programme where we put a 5-6 year ban on a designated area or make some species available in a particular season as per Ducks. | ||
| Closed areas and closed seasons will not have much impact on most mobile fish species if the overall level of harvest stays the same. While we have to admit that the scientists know very little about the amount of movement and mixing for most fish species, the theory is that it doesn't matter too much where or when fish are taken it is the overall level of catch that has to be managed to ensure sustainability of the stock. Closed areas and closed seasons can work for less mobile species like shellfish and maybe Blue Cod. They may also help manage local depletion issues where they reduce the catch from a heavily fished area. Developing fishery plans that improve recreational fisheries is an important one of the Option4 principles. Comments on marine reserves and fisheries management. The Department of Conservation has a discussion document available from its offices about this and other issues ( Tapui Taimoana: Reviewing the Marine Reserves Act 1971). Submissions on this review close on 22/12/00. Marine reserves are not used as a fisheries management tool in New Zealand, the purpose marine reserves is to establish areas of unique or characteristic environments maintained in a pristine state. Even so there is evidence at Leigh Marine Reserve that closed areas assist the rebuild of rock lobster stocks in localised areas. The use of closed areas for fisheries management is however used in several New Zealand fisheries. The best example is the Challenger Scallop Enhancement Company's use of rotational farming to spread the fishing effort and allow area stocks to recover in much the same way as rotational cropping or grazing is used in the agricultural sector. Closed area management is likely to be most effective for managing stocks of sedentary species (i.e. those that don't move around) such as scallops. The use of closed areas for most finfish species is likely to be of limited value since the fish range over wide areas and don't stay within the closed areas. However there is value in using closed areas is some situations for example juvenile snapper tend to congregate in shallow waters and closing these areas to fishing will protect them during this vulnerable stage of their life cycle. |
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| With Brierly selling the 50% share of Sealord to a Japanese Co how much will NZ benefit from the fishery in the future? | ||
| Brierly
is no longer a New Zealand company. Nissui offers opportunities
in marketing and high tech. processing that Brierly couldn't offer
and definitely has more of a long-term interest in the fishing business
than BIL. The Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission holds on to
all the fishing quota and increases their share holding in Sealord
(in fact reducing foreign ownership). |
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| Why do we continue to catch snapper in the spawning season? | ||
| Snapper produce lots of eggs but the mortality of eggs and juveniles is extremely high. However in warm years survival can be 10 times higher than cold years. When survival can vary by 1000% a 1% or 2% increase in the number of eggs will make no difference. Think about it another way. If you catch a snapper before the spawning season you are still removing it from the breeding population. In fact snapper can be long lived. By killing a small snapper you will have stoped it breeding for the next 40 or 50 years. |
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| Why is there so much commercial pressure on Kahawai and Kingfish? | ||
| Because
they are managed as commercial species that can be fished down to
the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). The change we have seen in
these fisheries over the last 15 years occurs in all fisheries as
they are fished down to the level that will support MSY – usually
about 20% by weight of the unfished population. |
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| It's a conservation issue isn't it? | ||
| Recreational
fishing on its own does not threaten any marine fish stock in New
Zealand. This is about allocating catch rights between recreational,
commercial and customary fishers. There may be local deletion of
snapper in a harbour but this does not threaten the sustainability
of snapper in the wider population. |
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| Why don't we have a license payment system to help fund the Management of recreational fisheries? | ||
| Because
this removes and existing right of free access to our fisheries.
No matter who runs it, most of the money would be swallowed up managing
the licences and not the fishery. |
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| What is sustainability in terms of current fisheries management? | ||
| The
focus of the Fisheries Act 1996 is “sustainable utilisation”. In
the Act sustainability is described by Maximum Sustainable Yield
(MSY). However there is no single number that defines MSY for any
fishery. In some fisheries the MSY is calculated using information
on the age, growth and the number of juveniles that enter the fishery.
In others trends in catch and average catch are used to model the
productivity of the fishery. Most of these estimates are presented
as a range of values, with the most likely estimate in the middle.
The Fisheries Act also allows for species to be managed above a
level that will support MSY. |
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| Can you tell me how fisheries like Flatfish and Red Gurnard, where the total commercial landings per annum are significantly less than the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) as represented by Quota (ITQ's) are being managed for the benefit of their traditional harvesters - the public of New Zealand? | ||
| Waiting
to be answered. |
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| The characteristics of a fishery resource from a management perspective are that it is a) open access, and b) renewable. The fundamental problem to be addressed in the management of a resource with the characteristic of fisheries are a) How to control access b) how to set sustainable yield levels c) how to ensure sustainable yield is maintained? | ||
| Big Questions, Big Picture answer. Managing wild stock fisheries is all about managing people not fish. We have no control over the fish, it's food supply and it's envirnonment. But we do have impact on fish populations through, disturbing or destroying some habitat, acting as a competitor by catching prey species or acting as a predator and catching part of the population. Controlling access, setting sustainable limits and not exceeding those limits are key issues for the fisheries managers Option4.co is a group trying to give recreational and subsistence fishers a voice. We are working on an overall structure that will help the fisheries managers make decisions on access and sustainable limits (Whether we want to be the fisheries managers is another question). This structure includes having a recreational priority right in law This right will lead to a fair allocation of the sustainable yield to the Public. This right should also give the public more say in what objectives are considered when setting the level of the sustainable yield. This right should give the public more say in local fisheries plans. Now to the questions a) How to control access. Through public involvement in fisheries plans, possible area closures, and in some cases reduction of commercial quota for stressed species. b) how to set sustainable yield levels. Through the Ministry of Fisheries science based fisheries management process but we will insist that social and economic objectives are used to balance the commercial objective of Maximum Sustainable Yield. c) how to ensure sustainable yield is maintained. By monitoring recreational, subsistence and customary and commercial catches and adjusting the following 1.Allocation of catch entitlement eg commercial to recreational 2. Management controls in high use areas 3. Closing some areas to some methods. Answered by John Holdsworth 26/11/00 |
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