KEY POINTS:
Recreational anglers are due to take the Government to the Supreme Court today as they try to change rulings on their allocation of the kahawai fishery.
Non-commercial fishing groups initiated the court case in 2005, a year after kahawai was brought into the quota management system.
Initial allocations were made between the commercial, recreational and traditional fishers by the Fisheries Minister at the time, David Benson-Pope, but in 2005 catch limits were cut because of continuing sustainability concerns.
In 2006, recreational fishers sought a judicial review of the minister's decisions, leading to Appeal Court judges ordering that catch limits would have to take into account the social, economic, and cultural wellbeing of recreational and Maori anglers.
But last year, the then minister, Jim Anderton, put off a major review of kahawai recreational bag limits and the allocations for anglers and commercial fishers until after the election.
The Supreme Court action marks the first time that recreational fishers and Maori have worked together, through the courts, to challenge how all fisheries are managed.
- NZPA
