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FISHERIES
INTRODUCTION
New Zealand fisheries are one of our most valuable natural resources. Seafood is our fourth biggest exporter (after dairy, meat, and timber) with earnings approaching $1.2 billion.
With the equivalent of 27,000 full-time employees the industry is a very significant employer with ongoing annual sales growth of over 8% (with exponential growth in aquaculture). This is an excellent example of an industry 'adding value'.
Sustainability is the key issue: just as we can't continue to deplete our farm land neither can we plunder our fisheries. International concerns, fishing patrols, and (ideally) voluntary conformity with an agreed quota management regime need to be dealt with.
More than a million New Zealanders fish for fun and food every year - a right that needs to be clearly established for all New Zealanders, and responsibilities that need to be similarly clear.
Before any government involving New Zealand First can enter into any shared management arrangements with recreational, customary or commercial fishers, the Minister of Fisheries will have to be satisfied that: a 'sustainable level of fish stocks' is clearly defined through appropriate research; fish stocks will be maintained at or above the sustainable level; the negative effects of fishing on the aquatic environment will be avoided; and proposed management plans will not hinder other fishers.
New Zealand First needs to be convinced that the practices and processes of the Ministry are robust and transparent.
PLANS
New Zealand First will:
- work towards the New Zealandisation of our fishing industry and resources by: supporting New Zealand fishing crews and seafood processors; industry training initiatives; and the regulation of foreign crews and vessels operating in New Zealand waters;
- develop a national policy statement on integrated marine fisheries management;
- foster shared management arrangements with recreational, customary, and commercial fishers whilst maintaining government control of management research and enforcement;
- facilitate the development, administration and enforcement of food-gathering regulations that devolve customary management responsibility, including conservation of species, to local communities, iwi and hapu where practicable with the aim of rebuilding Valued Recreational and Maori Customary Fish species to Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) and above;
- review current fisheries consultation processes to ensure that public consultation on fisheries issues is meaningful and encourages effective communication and collaborative problem solving;
- implement clear accountability systems and auditing programmes of fisheries management performance by public and private management;
- introduce permit fishery species into the quota management system and the consequential discharge by the Crown of its statutory obligations to Maori;
- overhaul the cost recovery regime to ensure the rules are simple and fair to all;
- carefully monitor the newly established post-settlement Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission to ensure it fulfils its legislative obligations;
- ensure that recreational and customary fishing rights are protected and enhanced. Funding for research and development will be supported to ensure that these practices are understood from a scientific, social equity, and cultural basis and subsequently appreciated and preserved;
- amend fisheries legislation to enable public participation when setting catch limits, environmental controls, and management strategies;
- ensure the representation of recreational fishers on the National Fisheries Advisory Committee;
- focus research on recreational, customary, and commercial fisheries to ensure sustainability;
- consider allocating a quota species (for example of Orange Roughy) which could be leased to finance the administration of the recreational fishing resource (this quota would never be sold);
- oppose licensing of salt-water fishers;
- encourage recreational fishers to join in partnership with the Crown to administer and regulate recreational fishing in the interests of sustainability. All recreational fishers should help police the system to ensure that there is no room for poachers and quasi 'recreational' fishers who sell or raffle their catches. This system should be managed regionally under a national umbrella organisation such as the Recreational Fishing Council;
- introduce tougher penalties, improve education and other measures to better protect the coastal marine environment;
- significantly reduce fishing industry compliance costs; and,
- ensure that the aquaculture industry's legislative needs are met by the fisheries and resource management legislation. This growth industry (worth over $250 million per year) will be reviewed with particular emphasis on the potential for developing marine farms. Also the review will, as a priority, define the nature and extent of aquacultural rights relative to the Quota Management System, the Sealord settlement, and clearly define recreational rights.
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