Ministry to review fisheries stock assessment process

5 October 2007

The Ministry of Fisheries is reviewing the systems and processes it uses to provide the Minister of Fisheries with advice for setting Total Allowable Catch limits for various fisheries. This follows feedback from the Minister about the robustness of some of the advice provided for this year’s TAC decisions, particularly around the ORH3B fishery.

This advice is a fundamental part of the Ministry’s core business, and is something it believes should be periodically reviewed and improved upon where necessary.

The review will focus on what is known as the stock assessment process and its integration with the “sustainability round”. The Ministry has appointed a multi-disciplinary team to undertake the review. This team is made up of:

• Dr Robin Allen, recently appointed Executive Secretary of South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation, who has considerable experience in managing fisheries in New Zealand and internationally;
• Peter Murray, MFish General Manager Corporate Services; and
• Robert Buchanan, a barrister and solicitor specialising in public law.

This review is planned to be completed by the end of the year and will inform the process for next year’s sustainability round.

 Download Terms of Reference for this review (PDF 71KB)