Fishing Industry Pays Small Price Abusing Quota

14 June 2007

Fishing Industry Pays Small Price for Consistently Abusing Quota Allocations

Over eleven hundred tonnes of west coast snapper have been taken in excess of sustainable quota limits since the introduction of the quota management system. That equates to over one million fish - a profit for commercial fishers of over three million dollars.

Recreational fishing groups are outraged continued commercial over-fishing threatens the sustainability of the North Island’s depleted west coast snapper stock. It is a profit-making abuse of the deeming system by the fishing industry.

Deeming is the mechanism by which commercial fishermen can land extra catch over their quota entitlement as long as they pay a monetary penalty to the government. Last year in the North Island west coast area ‘Snapper 8’, over 134 tonnes of snapper were deemed in excess of sustainable limits.

“By any measure commercial fishers are reaping handsome rewards for selfishly exploiting a mechanism meant to help them land accidental catch. This selfishness denies recreational and customary fishers a chance to provide fish for the table, “said Paul Barnes, Project Leader of option4.

option4, a group representing non-commercial fishing interests, are appalled that snapper are being targeted and landed in excess of the industry’s quota allocation. This was in spite of the Minister of Fisheries’ 2005 decision to cut catches to rebuild the depleted Snapper 8 fishery.

Recently released figures show that since 1988 commercial fishermen have regularly exceeded their west coast catch limits for snapper. Last year they landed 1434 tonnes against a quota entitlement of 1300 tonnes.

“Deeming was originally designed to allow accidental over-catch to be landed,” continued Paul Barnes, “it certainly wasn’t intended to give the fishing industry an opportunity to ignore sustainability decisions to rebuild shared fisheries like Snapper 8. If those extra fish had been left in the water they would have grown and spawned and this depleted snapper fishery would be well on the way to recovery.”

It is a major concern to option4 that commercial fishers are not being effectively constrained by quota in a fishery that is so important to recreational fishermen. The fishing industry, in greedily taking excess fish now, is causing a serious risk for the fishery, future fishing opportunities and well being of all New Zealanders.

Richard Baker of the New Zealand Big Game Fishing Council agrees, “The cost to non-commercial fishers of over-fishing quotas has been immense. A whole generation of New Zealanders has not experienced this west coast fishery at more than half the sustainable level prescribed by our fisheries laws. If the chronic abuse of the deemed value system continues to go unchecked they are not likely to ever see a healthy, well managed fishery”.

Paul Haddon, fisheries representative for Ngapuhi on the Hokianga Accord, the mid north iwi fisheries forum, echoes the need for more sustainable management of our fisheries. He says that, “the Hokianga Accord has recently supported the Minister’s call for a precautionary approach for vulnerable fisheries like Snapper 8 where sustainability is threatened by commercial overfishing. Many people on the west coast from Wellington to the far north depend on access to kai moana to feed their children and mokopuna. We will not stand by and watch the fishing industry take more fish than is viable.”

In 1998 the then Minister of Fisheries, John Luxton, reduced total commercial catch limits to rebuild the Snapper 8 fishery within ten years. This was considered necessary because the snapper stock had slumped to seriously low levels and sustainability was at risk.

By 2005 it was obvious this rebuild was not occurring so the present Minister, Jim Anderton, reduced the catch limits again. Recreational and customary fishermen also had their allowances reduced, largely because of the lack of constraint on the fishing industry.

It is now very clear that the commercial fishing industry’s blatant disregard for the long-term sustainability is a significant factor preventing a timely rebuild in the Snapper 8 fishery.

ENDS

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