Cover Letter - Stakeholders

3 July 2006

Dear Stakeholder

REVIEW OF SUSTAINABILITY MEASURES AND OTHER MANAGEMENT CONTROLS

The Ministry of Fisheries (MFish) has undertaken a process to review the management measures for some of New Zealand’s fisheries. The Initial Position Paper (IPP) provides you with MFish’s initial position on the sustainability measures and other management controls being reviewed. Primarily these issues relate to 1 April fishing year fish stocks. The IPP includes the rationale to support each proposal and a preliminary recommendation.

The purpose of this letter is to invite you to participate in this review process.

This annual review of fisheries management measures primarily focuses on commitments already made to review certain fishstocks and on urgent issues that present a high level of risk or opportunity.

The proposals considered in the IPP include:

• Extending the maximum size limit for eels taken by commercial fishers from the South Island to a nationwide basis;
• Removing particular South Island eel stocks from the second schedule of the Fisheries Act 1996;
• The addition of remaining cockle stock (COC3) and surf clam stocks to the Sixth Schedule;
• Considering the domestic sale of Southland Concession Area rock lobsters within the Southland CRA8 fishery;
• Removing the minimum Annual Catch Entitlement holding provisions for the west coast South Island paua fishery;
• Review of species on the Fifth Schedule which allows for 45% aggregation of quota shares;

MFish welcomes written submissions on the proposals contained within the IPP. Written submissions are due by Friday, 25 August 2006 and should be posted to Josh Masson, Ministry of Fisheries, PO Box 1020, Wellington. Alternatively, electronic submissions can be emailed to josh.masson@fish.govt.nz.

Finally, we note that all submissions that are received for the purposes of the sustainability measures process are publicly available under the Official Information Act 1982. Should any person or organisation wish for any information contained in their submission to be withheld under the Act, the grounds for withholding the information must be provided in the submission.

Yours sincerely

Russell Burnard
Manager Allocations and Regulatory Services
Fisheries Operations