The Minister's Final Decision - Red Gurnard (GUR3)

(GUR 3 - South-east Coast, South-east Chatham Rise, Southland and Sub-Antarctic)

My initial proposal for GUR 3 was that it be included in the AMP for a further five-year term, commencing from the 2002-03 fishing year, with a TACC of 700 tonnes.

After reading stakeholders' submissions on GUR 3, and noting MFish's final advice and conclusions, I have decided to include this stock in the AMP for a new five-year term but with a TACC of 800 tonnes. I have also agreed to an allowance for recreational interests of 3 tonnes based on diary surveys. In the absence of quantitative information on non-commercial Maori catch, I have agreed to an allowance of 3 tonnes to allow for customary utilisation, within an overall TAC of 806 tonnes.

MFish does not hold sustainability concerns about the GUR 3 fishstock because catches have not been anywhere near the level of the previous 900 tonne TACC. It should also be noted that there were problems with the analysis in 1996-97 that resulted in the increase to 900 tonnes. The proposal put forward to retain GUR 3 in the AMP is a new proposal, and as such must be assessed on a fresh basis.

I have agreed that GUR 3 should be retained in the AMP for a new five year term on the basis that the decision rule has not been invoked and the agreed monitoring programmes and associated analyses have been undertaken. However, I do not believe that any of the arguments put forward by stakeholders support retaining the 900 tonne TACC, although I acknowledge that, based on current trends, a TACC of 700 tonnes would be slightly exceeded. In order to allow for any increase in recruitment, and increased by-catch due to changing vessel deployment and fishing grounds, I have agreed to a TACC of 800 tonnes.
It is possible that, as industry contend, a change is occurring in the fishery in terms of vessel deployment and fishing grounds, although this will only become apparent over a number of years. Setting a TACC of 800 tonnes will allow for by-catch from the target trawl fisheries such as flatfish and red cod.