Policy Development

Strategy for Managing the Environmental Effects of Fishing

The Ministry is in the final stages of preparing a Strategy for Managing the Environmental Effects of Fishing. Its primary purpose is to provide a policy framework through which the Ministry can more effectively meet its environmental obligations under the Fisheries Act 1996. Consultation on the draft strategy was completed during the year and the final strategy is nearing completion.

The Marine Protected Areas Strategy is a joint initiative with the Department of Conservation. It aims to establish by 2010, a network of protected areas that will safeguard 10% of New Zealand’s marine environment.

We made less progress on this project than planned this year, as policy resources were reprioritised to provide input into the development of the Foreshore and Seabed Bill. However, we obtained and incorporated technical advice on key aspects of the strategy, and the draft strategy is near completion. We intend to provide the draft strategy to the Ministers of Fisheries and Conservation by the end of September 2004, with targeted consultation occurring later in the calendar year.

The Ministry worked with officials from a number of other departments on the legislative framework that will allow for the development of the aquaculture industry. Work this year was primarily focused on resolving Māori access rights to aquaculture space. In the upcoming year, the Ministry will help progress reforms and implement the legislation.

The Ministry was extensively involved in progressing the Maori Fisheries Bill which, at the end of the financial year, was still under consideration by the Fisheries and Other Sea-Related Legislation Committee. The Bill provides for the allocation of fisheries assets held by the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission, in accordance with the 1992 Fisheries Deed of Settlement as it relates to Māori commercial fishing rights.

The Ministry has been developing a strategy for implementing the Crown’s obligations under the Fisheries Deed of Settlement, particularly with respect to customary fishing rights. The strategy was not finalised this year due to other commitments. However, the Ministry is building its capacity to engage with Māori on customary fisheries issues.

We aim to establish a number of regional fora which will assist with the legal obligation to provide for the input and participation of Māori on fisheries issues. We anticipate establishing up to ten regional fora by the end of next financial year.

During the year, the Ministry supported the implementation of two Fisheries Amendment Bills. At the end of the financial year, the second of the two Bills (itself subsequently split into two separate Bills) was still under consideration by the Primary Production Committee. Important changes included in this Bill are removing the commercial fishing permit moratorium that has been in place for ten years and streamlining the process and criteria for introducing species into the quota management system.

Over the past few years, the Ministry has worked with recreational fishers to define their rights more clearly so they may engage more effectively in fisheries management. The Ministry worked with a reference group comprising representatives of the recreational fishing sector to formulate options for potential legislative reform. The Minister elected to defer further work on this issue because the process was unable to provide agreement on any potential options.

The Ministry continues to take an active role in international fisheries issues and fora. The Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna met in Christchurch in October last year. Under New Zealand chairmanship, it reached agreement on a TAC and national allocations for the first time since 1997.

On 19 December 2003, New Zealand became the 13th country to ratify the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention. The Convention came into force on 19 June 2004. New Zealand will take its seat at the first Commission meeting in December 2004.

The Ministry has continued to work within the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources to strengthen institutional arrangements for managing Antarctic fisheries resources. Work is also continuing with other interested countries and the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations to negotiate an agreement to manage deep-sea fisheries in the Southern Indian Ocean.

New Zealand’s National Plan of Action for the Prevention of Illegal Unregulated and Unreported Fishing has been completed and forwarded to the Minister of Fisheries. New Zealand also presented a proposal to the World Trade Organisation negotiating group in April calling for a ban on subsidies liable to contribute to overcapacity or overfishing or other trade distortions. The proposal is the first to call formally for a ban on fisheries subsidies and outline how such a ban might be written into WTO rules.