Hone Harawira
MANA leader and MP for Te Tai Tokerau

18 September 2013

Cut the snapper dumping and leave fishermen alone

“Maintaining a sustainable fishery is definitely in the nation’s best interests, but cutting people’s snapper catch from 9 to 7 ain’t the way to do it” said MANA leader and Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira. “All that will do is piss off the tens of thousands of people who just want to go fishing, especially those who have to fish to eat because they can’t afford $30-40 a kilo for snapper!”

“If the government was serious about rebuilding the snapper stocks, they’d toughen up the quota system and increase fines to force commercial fishers to improve their catch techniques and reduce the dumping of thousands of tons of fish every year.

“They could also require commercial fishers to land their whole catch, and process the bycatch for sale on local and international markets.

“In a nation with the one of the greatest sea borders in the world, we should be doing all we can to protect people’s right to fish” said Harawira. “That’s what the fisheries settlement with iwi provided, and that’s what we should require the government to stand by.

“Picking on the little guy is this government’s normal way of doing things - but cutting back on a man’s catch won’t solve nothing.

“Solve the dumping problem and you solve the whole problem.

ENDS

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