June 25, 2016
Threats of compensation claims over the years have heavily influenced Ministerial decisions, even when the need for a catch reduction was obvious. Now we have a litany of fish stocks with uncatchable Total Allowable Commercial Catches (TACCs) and no prospects of precautionary management in sight. It is time we clarified the nature of quota so […]
June 24, 2016
Welcome to the FryUp – a regular look back at the week of fishing in the news. Call to ban all fishing in Hawke’s Bay Grim news from the Hawke’s Bay where concerned fishers are pushing to have all industrial fishing pushed out beyond the 50m depth contour. Last week we reported on local MP […]
June 23, 2016
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 […]
June 23, 2016
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 […]
June 17, 2016
Welcome to the FryUp – a regular look back at the week of fishing in the news. Double the primary exports It’s Fieldays time again and so the Ministry for Primary Industries is talking up the future of all things edible. The goal – to double primary exports to $64 billion a year by 2025. Currently, […]
June 15, 2016
What a shambles our fisheries management is in, claim and denial met by counter claim and more strident denial. The public relations outfits must be licking their lips and counting the dollars. The average New Zealander just wants to know the truth, so here is the start. Of course fishermen dump fish over the side. […]
June 15, 2016
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.
June 3, 2016
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 […]
May 24, 2016
The Prime Minister once famously said that New Zealanders care more about snapper than the GCSB spying on Kiwis – and he may be right. The freedom to go out fishing, to bring home your catch and share the experience with family, friends and whanau is an essential part of New Zealand’s way of life. […]
April 25, 2016
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 […]
