There is an ongoing furore over the revelations in two official reports that Ministry for Primary Industries officials knew commercial trawl fishers were illegally dumping, discarding and high grading fish but did nothing to stop the crimes or perpetrators. Our New Zealand Sport Fishing Council fisheries team has submitted several Official Information Act requests to…
Paul Henry might have been exaggerating when he said recently that all fishermen are liars, but for New Zealand authorities to be caught red-handed under reporting total catch by half to the United Nations for the past 60 years, that’s in another league. The strident denials then ‘shoot the messenger’ reactions from the Minister for…
For 30 years New Zealanders have been sold the line that our Quota Management System is a world leader when it comes to both protecting fish stocks and encouraging a culture of stewardship. Kiwis and the world have been sold a pup.
Revelations there have been no prosecutions after investigations into blatant fish dumping, catch misreporting, and high grading aboard coastal and deep sea trawlers are alarming. Even more disturbing is the refusal of officials to acknowledge and address the underlying problems embedded in the Quota Management System (QMS). Realistically, the Ministry for Primary Industries is never…
A central theme to the four recent management submissions to the Ministry for Primary Industries is the need for more precautionary management of our fish stocks. The Minister’s decisions, announced on March 17th, are a mixed bag, with cuts to commercial catch limits for selected scallop and crayfish stocks, and significant increases in surf clam…
