Kahawai catch limits remain the same for 2007/08 fishing year
16 July 2007
“Kahawai catch limits for recreational, customary and commercial fishers will remain unchanged for 2007/08 fishing year (starting in October 2007), pending court appeals set to be heard in February 2008,” Ministry of Fisheries acting chief executive Stan Crothers said today.
In March this year, the High Court directed the Minister of Fisheries Jim Anderton to reconsider some of the decisions on kahawai made by the previous Ministers’ of Fisheries in 2004 and 2005.
Groups representing both recreational and commercial fishers have appealed aspects of the High Court’s March 2007 decision. These issues are set to be heard in the Court of Appeal in February 2008.
Given those appeals, the Crown applied for a stay on the High Court’s direction for the Minister to reconsider the decisions on kahawai – until the appeals have been resolved. Groups representing commercial fishers subsequently also applied to the High Court for a stay.
“With the ‘kahawai case’ still subject to appeal, preparing advice for the Minister to reconsider the decision in a climate of uncertainty would be a difficult process,” Mr Crothers said.
“And with that uncertainty, any decision the Minister made for 2007/08 fishing year might have to be remade if the appeals are successful.”
“In those circumstances, reconsidering the decisions for kahawai could diminish public confidence in the statutory process. The High Court acknowledged this and granted the stay, being satisfied that the interests of justice required it.”
The ‘kahawai case’ came about through both recreational and commercial fishers being unhappy about how the kahawai catch limits were set in 2004 and 2005. Until the appeals are resolved, the existing total allowable catches and total allowable commercial catches remain in force for all kahawai stocks.
Total allowable catch (TAC), allowances and total allowable commercial catches (TACC) for kahawai stocks for the 2007/08 fishing year are as follows:
Fishstock |
Recreational Allowance |
Maori customary Allowance |
Other mortality |
TACC |
TAC |
KAH 1 |
1 680 |
495 |
65 |
1 075 |
3 315 |
KAH 2 |
610 |
185 |
30 |
705 |
1 530 |
KAH 3 |
390 |
115 |
20 |
410 |
935 |
KAH 4 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
14 |
KAH 8 |
385 |
115 |
20 |
520 |
1 040 |
KAH 10 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
14 |
Related links:
State of Our Fisheries - Species Focus - Kahawai
Minister to consider kahawai fishery decision (Media Release, March 2007)