KEY POINTS:
To me, best value from our fisheries is a combination of things. It is the jobs and economic benefits that flow from the amateur and commercial fishing sectors.
It is the millions of hours of fun that fishing brings to so many New Zealanders. It is the cultural value of being able to put fish on the table to feed friends or whanau.
And it is the healthy habitats and ecosystems that support all these and other human activities.
Managing fisheries is a difficult job. What we know about the fish stocks in our waters is more limited than we would like.
What we know about the overall harvest is not as complete as we would like it to be. This makes setting limits on annual catch with any degree of certainty a much tougher job, but we do it anyway.
Someone has to if we are to ensure that there is a future fishery for New Zealanders to share. And we need to recognise that our fisheries, particularly our inshore species, are shared by those with customary, commercial and amateur fishing interests.
As pointed out in Geoff Cumming's recent article the Elusive Quarry, shared fisheries is the way to manage these fisheries sustainably and fairly.
It is true that managing shared fisheries for 'maximum sustainable yield' means different fishing interests will not always be happy with the decisions made.
Catch limits that are set to produce the greatest yield over time do not always meet the interests of amateur fishers, who are often more interested in having fisheries managed for greater abundance. Leaving more fish in the water makes it easier to catch fish and the fish are often larger.
That's why I proposed in the Shared Fisheries discussion document that changes be made to allow fisheries to be managed for higher abundance.
But managing shared fisheries with priority for amateur fishing, and giving the commercial sector access to "what's left" is not fair. Our inshore commercial fishery is part of the New Zealand lifestyle and tradition and its interests need to be recognised.
These fisheries are shared - therefore the approaches to management need to respect both the commercial and amateur fishing interests.
And, of course, Maori have a substantial stake in commercial fishing and amateur fishing, as well as customary non-commercial fishing.
I am happy that I know of no one, in any part of our fisheries, who wants to see diminishing stock numbers or undersized fish. Demonising people for feeding their whanau, or for making a living and contributing to this country's economic well-being is not an option, not if we want to ensure fisheries are sustainable.
Solutions that work will vary from fishery to fishery, depending on the particular circumstances.
So I am encouraged that the New Zealand Recreational Fishing Council, the Seafood Industry Council and Te Ohu Kaimoana are committed to working together to find common ground.
Management approaches agreed to by the interested parties are more likely to endure even if they aren't their first choice.
The end result can then be given statutory backing through the approval of fisheries plans.
It's not easy for such agreements to be reached. They require mutual respect and "give and take". This takes time to achieve.
But what is the alternative? The status quo, where the minister makes the decisions, does not encourage the sectors to work together to develop viable solutions.
Better information on amateur catch and improved representation and participation of the amateur sector are key building blocks for a negotiated approach to shared fisheries management.
I am pleased that the Government will be considering providing the funding in the 2008 Budget to boost both information and representation for the amateur fishing sector.
And I look forward to this year seeing real progress in reaching agreement on how best to share this wonderful resource, while preserving it for the future.
* Jim Anderton is Minister of Fisheries.
