11 February 2007 Media release

Minister wants fishers’ submissions

The Minister of Fisheries Jim Anderton is encouraging fishers from all sectors to comment on proposals for the future management of shared fisheries by the end of February.

"Shared fisheries are fisheries where commercial, customary and amateur fishers all target the same species. Snapper, blue cod, kahawai, tarakihi, gurnard, rock lobster (crayfish) and paua are examples of shared fisheries," Jim Anderton said.

Jim Anderton launched the Shared Fisheries Discussion Document in October last year and reminded all interested stakeholders today that the consultation period finishes on 28 February 2007 and all submissions must be in by this date.

“In particular, I urge stakeholders, whether they support or have concerns, about the proposals to get their thoughts and ideas down on paper and send them to the Ministry of Fisheries by the end of the month. I encourage people to read the discussion document to come to their own view and have their say.

“Representatives of commercial, customary and amateur fishers have voiced their concerns about aspects of the proposals, now it is time to put them in writing so I can consider them.

Jim Anderton said the Government had no intention of undermining the Quota Management System (QMS) or the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Deed of Settlement. Jim Anderton assured stakeholders that he would not allow any reallocation to occur without compensation to quota owners. The Minister also said he hoped that any reallocation could be on a willing buyer/willing seller basis.

“The challenge before us is to manage shared fisheries in a way that ensures all New Zealanders get as much value as possible from them, not only today but into the future,” Jim Anderton said.

The proposals are designed to resolve a series of problems:
• Uncertainty over allocation which impedes constructive fisheries management and leads to litigation
• Poor incentives for the commercial and amateur sectors to work together to manage and conserve fisheries
• Poor information on amateur catch.

The proposals include some options, which could lead to allocation of fisheries changing between sectors. However, the discussion document also suggests redress for the commercial sector, which is not currently provided for.

“The way we manage these fisheries is important to our economy, our national identity, and to both Maori and päkehä cultural values. The document sets out some exciting new approaches to these issues, which I think offer hope of resolving some of the conflicting interests in these important fisheries,” Jim Anderton said from Christchurch.

People can get a copy of “Shared Fisheries” on the Shared Fisheries pages of the MFish website (www.fish.govt.nz) or call 0800 666 675.

For more information, please call
Contact: Jim Anderton on 021 777 680
Or Liz Grant on 04 471 9172 021 227 9172

www.beehive.govt.nz/anderton www.progressiveparty.org.nz

Background – Shared Fisheries
The Ministry of Fisheries is currently consulting on proposals to try to increase the value fishers achieve from use of fisheries resources (the proposals were launched in October and the consultation period ends on 28 February 2007). These species are in demand from:
• Commercial fishers
• Customary fishers
• Amateur/recreational fishers
and are collectively referred to as “shared fisheries”.

About twenty percent of all New Zealanders go fishing, and most recreational fishing is done over summer months. The discussion on Shared Fisheries should be of high interest to many over the holiday period.

Shared fisheries are usually close to the coast where all of the three above groups can target them. Examples of shared fisheries are:
• Snapper, blue cod, kahawai, tarakihi, gurnard, kingfish, rock lobster (crayfish), paua
Species such as orange roughy and hoki are not shared fisheries as these are deep-water species only accessible to commercial fishers.

As you can imagine, each of the above groups is trying to get as much value as possible out of each shared fishery. That value may be measured in:
• Livelihoods for commercial fishers and export income for New Zealand
• Practising cultural tradition and exercising customary right – for Maori customary fishers
• Food, pleasure and family tradition – for amateur and recreational fishers.
Each group has an opinion on how fisheries should be managed and this is a fertile area for debate.

Each region has its icon species and related shared fisheries:
Northern New Zealand – snapper, scallops, rock lobster, kahawai, kingfish, etc
Central New Zealand – tarakihi, blue cod, snapper, scallops, rock lobster, paua, kahawai, etc
Southern New Zealand – blue cod, rock lobster, paua, oysters, scallops, etc

Each region has its characters who have opinions on the management of these shared fisheries. They can found at commercial fishing companies, iwi authorities and marae, recreational fishing clubs, boating clubs or down at the wharf, beach or boat ramp.

The Shared Fisheries Discussion Paper does not attempt to address local and regional issues in their specifics, but deals with the overall legislation and policy settings at the national level. The key to effective input into this process from a regional perspective lies in stakeholders with knowledge of local issues coming to understand how they may be affected by changes at the national policy level.

Useful Contacts
Below is a list of key stakeholder groups:
• New Zealand Recreational Fisheries Council
• Big Game Fishing Council
• option4
• Seafood Industry Council
• Te Ohu Kai Moana

Shaping the future of shared fisheries
The emergence of the government’s Shared Fisheries discussion paper is an important step forward in responding to issues raised by fishers for many years.

MFish is consulting on proposals that aim to improve management of shared fisheries - those that are shared between customary Maori, amateur and commercial fishers.

Why do we need change? We have a well-regarded commercial fisheries management regime, and recognition of Maori commercial and non-commercial interests through the 1992 Fisheries settlement. The current legislative framework still has significant shortcomings in respect of recognising the interests of amateur fishers, properly integrating those interests within the wider fisheries management framework, and providing greater certainty about future allocation to all sectors.

These shortcomings have lead to real dissatisfaction and are increasingly apparent as fisheries management problems. There is ongoing contention and litigation, and loss of potential to undertake constructive fisheries management.

What are the objectives? The proposals have one key objective:
• to increase the value obtained from shared fisheries - whether the value is money, employment, food, cultural tradition, or simply the pleasure of being outdoors and catching fish

Two key issues have been identified in achieving better value:
o the broad and varied set of values held by amateur fishers needs greater recognition in the fisheries management framework; and
o there is a need for greater certainty around allocation between the commercial, customary and amateur sectors.

To achieve these goals, the proposals for shared fisheries put forward options that focus on 7 key areas:
i) Information,
ii) Setting the TAC,
iii) Priorities in Allocation,
iv)Allocation of catch between commercial and amateur sectors,
v) Local area management,
vi)Provision for redress to the commercial sector, and
vii) Representation of the Amateur sector.

Better information
Management of shared fisheries and recognition of interests is compromised by poor information, particularly the uncertain estimates of amateur catch. These proposals include more resourcing of new and improved approaches to assess amateur catch, a requirement for catch reporting by recreational charter operators, and new research into the value obtained from the use of fisheries.

Better recognising amateur and customary values
The paper sets out proposals that could mean more and bigger fish in the water for specific fisheries, and the ability to rebuild depleted fisheries more quickly. Another proposal suggests the ability to use local area management to resolve conflict between sectors. These are ways to recognise that amateur and customary fishing is an important part of our identity as New Zealanders, and should be provided for.

Setting and adjusting amateur and commercial allocations
These proposals answer the call to better set out how shared fisheries should be divided up. The current legislation provides little guidance. The proposals include options for different approaches to set baseline allocations of catch and allow for future adjustments. They would provide a guaranteed minimum tonnage for amateur fishers in each shared fishery, which would have priority over commercial fishing. Such measures would build on current cooperative arrangements between sectors, where they exist.

Representing amateur fishers
Amateur fishers can and should have an important role in fisheries management, but they often find it difficult to get to the discussion table (largely voluntary organisations that are not resourced well). An independent Amateur Fishing Trust is proposed that would work with existing amateur fishing organisations to develop a national body. Funded by government initially, the trust could coordinate views of amateur fishing organisations and help them be better represented in fisheries management processes with other sectors.

Balancing interests
Although these proposals recognise issues raised by the amateur sector, these are shared fisheries, and therefore changes need to recognise the rights and interests of all involved. The proposals include elements such as clarifying priority of allocation to Maori customary fishing under the Fisheries Act, and the consideration of redress for commercial fishers where significant reallocations occur. Some proposals adjust shares between commercial and amateur sectors. If changes effectively remove commercial assets, compensation should be considered.

The proposals address other issues that the commercial sector has raised – particularly certainty in allocation, better monitoring of amateur catch, and better organisation of the amateur sector to support constructive engagement processes. These proposals allow for better long-term planning and investment by the industry, and set the platform for ongoing cooperation with the amateur sector. They expand on what is already there and do not seek to replace what is working well for all sectors in particular fisheries.

The Process
The public discussion document was launched in late October. There was considerable engagement with fisheries stakeholders in the first half of 2006, focussed on identifying the issues and the approaches they thought useful to resolve the issues.

The Ministry held a large number of meetings since late October, including the 7 public meetings, and separate meetings with recreational groups, the Ministry’s regional forum network, Iwi regional forums and commercial groups.

The Ministry would like to hear what stakeholders you have to say about the proposals, what they agree with, what you don’t, and why, and other ideas for constructively addressing the issues recognising the rights and interests of other sectors.

The closing date for submissions is 28 February 2007.

Background Notes
The current process is a continuation of the initiatives beginning in 1998 under Minister of Fisheries John Luxton to resolve shared fisheries issues. Many of the concerns raised have been identified since 1983, and some elements of the current Shared Fisheries proposals have been suggested before (although the current proposals are more ambitious in scope and address issues raised by all three extractive sectors).

Many of the same actors from stakeholder groups have been involved for over a decade. Previous processes have not resulted in meaningful forward progress for reasons including the lack of a reasonable level of consensus on a new direction. Lack of trust and cooperation between the sectors is a clear impediment to progress not only in fisheries management but also in policy reform.

The previous public consultation process (“Soundings”) in 2000 was effectively halted by a web based public campaign by the lobby group option4 – who took their identity as the alternative to the three options offered up in the Soundings discussion document. Opposition was largely based on one element in the range of proposals in the Soundings document – licensing for amateur fishers. These proposals do not include licensing, and the Government has indicated it does not intend to go down that track.

The other key amateur fishing group is the Recreational Fishing Council. The NZRFC is a Council made up of delegates representing National (6) and Regional (9) Associations plus Club representatives and Branch delegates (9) elected to represent the public sector members.

There is the current judicial review of the Minister of Fisheries’ decisions on kahawai. This case highlights some of the problems with the current statutory and policy structure, including uncertainty around allocation. However, this reform was underway before this litigation emerged and is not a response to those legal issues. These proposals do seek to address many of the allocation issues, which are under consideration in the kahawai proceedings.

The key large commercial representative groups are SeaFiC and Te Ohu Kai Moana. There are also a number of CSOs (Commercial Stakeholder Organisations) and fishing companies. There is no one body that represents the commercial and non-commercial fisheries interests of Iwi nationally.

Ends

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