Minister wants NZ crew on fishing boats

Associate Immigration Minister Damien O'Connor has renewed calls for a revision of the Government's policy on the use of foreign-owned, joint-venture fishing operations.

Mr O'Connor said "clear preference" should be given to New Zealand-owned boats and crew when allocating quota and fishing.

Ministry of Fisheries figures show 40 per cent of New Zealand's commercial fishing catch was landed by 36 foreign-owned boats in the 12 months to February 29 this year.

Mr O'Connor called for a review of the "ongoing access" for joint-venture operations to New Zealand's marine resources.

"Joint-venture vessels crewed by foreigners continue to have access to our fishery. It is difficult for some of the New Zealand boats to pay over and above market rates and compete with these joint-venture vessels," he said.

His comments come days after the Immigration Service announced its approval for an unnamed Nelson fishing firm to recruit 40 foreign workers to crew its domestic fishing boats.

The company claimed there was an industry labour shortage and warned it would be forced to tie up its vessels and make staff layoffs if its application was declined.

Unions fear the approval could open the door to other applications and reverse a "New Zealandisation" trend in the fishing industry.

Mr O'Connor said the saga highlighted the need to look again "at some of these core policy issues".

He said New Zealand boats crewed by New Zealanders was the only sustainable way to catch fish.

But an expected cut in the national hoki quota and falling wages and conditions in the industry meant many New Zealand fishermen were choosing to work onshore.

Mr O'Connor said he would be monitoring the situation "very closely" to ensure Kiwi fishermen who wanted to go to sea were not disadvantaged by the foreign worker approval.

Mr O'Connor said he had made formal representations to Fisheries Minister David Benson-Pope about the Government's joint-venture policy and he planned to follow it up.

Mr Benson-Pope said he was in "ongoing discussions" about the issue but he would be unlikely to remove the joint-venture option for New Zealand companies.

"Industry wants to have the capacity to bring in charter boats."

- NZPA