KEY POINTS:
Charter boat operators should be forced to buy quota and report their catch, say commercial fishers.
"They are commercial operators and as we are required to report catch against quota they should also be required to own quota," said Seafood Industry Council (Seafic) chief executive Owen Symmans.
A discussion paper released by Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton has raised the issue of charter fishing boats reporting catch just as recreational and commercial fishermen face off in the High Court over allocation of prized inshore fisheries.
The case centres around decisions made when kahawai was introduced into the quota management system in 2004. Recreational fishers say they are not getting a fair deal under the Fisheries Act.
But commercial fishers counter by saying that decisions by then Fisheries Minister David Benson-Pope to cut kahawai quota after kahawai were included in the quota system were illegal.
Mr Anderton's paper has floated options to deal with on-going conflict between the two sides. While charter boats reporting catch was one option, Seafic believed it didn't go far enough.
"Our position is that we need better information about inshore fisheries to get appropriate management in place and that includes charter boat operators having to report against quota," Mr Symmans said.
Charter boat operator Pete Saul calls that rubbish. "The industry has a real bugbear about charter boats but I think if they knew the amount we were catching they would be surprised at how low it is," he said.
He has been in the business 20 years, operating off the Northland coast, and said it was rare for any of his clients to reach the daily bag limit of 20 mixed finfish, including a limit of nine snapper.
"A lot of nonsense is talked by industry about daily bag limits. It's very, very seldom anyone takes home 20 fish."
Mr Saul said he agreed with industry that better information was needed on the recreational catch but if the Government wanted that, it "should put its hand in its pocket".
Mr Symmans said all recreational fishers should be licensed or registered in the same way that trout anglers are.
"We provide information on fisheries which costs us millions a year, our big concern is that we don't have a clue what recreational fishers are taking on an annual basis," he said.
