It is a concern for all of us that the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has once again shown they are unwilling or unable to show the public how they are carrying out their statutory duties. This time, in the form of a blanket refusal to share more than 100 reports requested under the Official…
News that the Ministry for Primary Industries has failed to ensure cameras being installed on fishing boats are fit for purpose is just the latest in a series of failures by the ministry in overseeing New Zealand’s fisheries. Newshub’s Michael Morrah has uncovered an MPI report that suggests the cameras being installed to monitor fishing…
Over time various government functions have been passed over to Crown institutes and established researchers. This hand-over is acceptable if stakeholders have had a say, and if the transfer is to accredited parties. However, the passover of more fisheries management functions and administrative powers to FishServe, a company owned and operated by the fishing industry…
When the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) failed to prosecute industrial fishing boat captains for dumping catch it blamed legal advice for the decision. Now we are told that legal advice never existed. Instead, MPI used misleading information and misdirected both the Minister and the public as to why blatant dumping of fish recorded on…
“Oh! What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive”, Sir Walter Scott, 1808. This quote refers to how complex life can get if you don’t tell the truth. It is derived from a play about a love triangle and yet it is so applicable to what is happening in fisheries circles…
