Stuart Nash: New steps to shore-up fishery

Managing the fishery in the face of competing interests is a difficult task, writes Stuart Nash. Photo File

I agree with Bruce Bisset from time to time, and disagree every now and then, but so far we have not gone head to head on the breeding cycle of the orange roughy.

However, there are more serious points that need to be corrected from his recent column (1 March).

Our fisheries management decisions are based on the best available scientific data. It's the foundation of our approach to fisheries management. Fisheries New Zealand (FNZ) invests approximately $21 million per year in scientific research.

The information we get from NIWA fisheries scientists and other research organisations tell us how well fish stocks are doing.

Information comes from scientific surveys, the government's own fisheries observers on board commercial vessels, analysis of data on size and age of fish that are caught, and catch reports from operators. We have a broad picture of what's happening in any given fishery.

Currently 165 fish stocks in the quota management system are scientifically assessed, which covers over 70% of commercial landings. Of these stocks, 140 are in good shape, and we have no sustainability concerns. In all cases where sustainability concerns are identified, we take steps to rebuild the stocks.

We are always looking for ways we can do things better. We have introduced electronic catch and position reporting for all commercial skippers this year to give us more accurate, detailed and timely data and about what is being caug and where it is being caught. This will lead to a greater number of fish stocks being scientifically assessed, and more sustainable fisheries.

Mr Bisset's assessment that orange roughy only start to breed at 80 years of age is incorrect. They mature at 25-35 years of age, but even that means that they are long lived, and we have learnt through hard experience that incorrect scientific assumptions can have big consequences for fish stocks.

As a result of interventions by FNZ, orange roughy stocks have rebuilt and almost all are at or above sustainable target levels. The Puysegur sub-stock of orange roughy, in waters far to the south of the South Island, was assessed in 2017 and has fully rebuilt since its closure in 1997. That is evidence of a system that works.

The vast majority of stocks managed in our Quota Management System are for individual species in particular areas. This is the biomass estimated by our scientists. We also keep track of numbers of fish and spawning fish, but total weight, in tonnes, is a unit of measurement used in fisheries management globally.

We manage New Zealand's fisheries for everyone. There are strict rules in place around the commercial fishing harvest, just as there are around recreational and customary take.

We want a sustainable fishery for everyone – for current and future generations of New Zealanders, whether they be from the commercial, recreational or customary sector.

Anyone who thinks that FNZ manages only for commercial harvests should take a look at the significant prosecutions they take against skippers and company directors when they break the rules.

Hawke's Bay Seafoods is a case in point.

Managing the fishery for everybody in the face of competing interests can be a difficult task, and we're always looking to improve.

As one example, FNZ is currently consulting the public on proposals to reshape, improve, and modernise the system to enhance sustainability and improve incentives for good fishing practice.

I encourage you to go to the website https://www.mpi.govt.nz/news-and-resources/consultations/your-fisheries-your-say/ to make your voice heard.

Submissions close at 5pm on 17 March 2019. We really want to hear from you.

* Stuart Nash is the MP for Napier and Minister of Fisheries