Last week I was privileged to attend the Environmental Defence Society's Tipping Points conference in Auckland. A tipping point is where a system can collapse beyond recovery.
Newfoundland's cod fisheries were a salutary message in how not to manage fish stocks. Commercial fishers knew the fishery was collapsing, as they had to fish harder and longer to catch their quota. It all looked good to the government department that was monitoring it - fish stocks were fine; constant catch levels told them so.
They weren't listening to locals who tried to warn them. What did they know? Turns out they knew a helluva lot. Within two years of being warned the fishery collapsed, with not enough fish left to reproduce and build up numbers again, and 25 years down the track it still hasn't recovered.
Could the same thing be happening here? We are told that our Quota Management System is world-leading and will to protect our fish stocks from collapse. But will it?
I heard plenty of evidence that our commercial fishers are finding it difficult to fill their snapper quota in some areas, and if snapper are having a hard time breeding then the rest of the fishery is in serious trouble.