Leadership and cooperation
Managing our fisheries to maximise their value is not something the Ministry can do alone. We need to work with stakeholders to preserve this scarce and valuable resource. The Ministry is taking an active leadership role to make sure this muchneeded cooperation happens.
We are creating the structures needed to engage more effectively with stakeholders. We are working cooperatively with other agencies and organisations to achieve shared goals around sustainable fishing and protecting the aquatic environment. And we are working across borders to maximise the value to New Zealand from the sustainable use of fisheries resources beyond our exclusive economic zone.
providing greater leadership in fisheries management
The Ministry needs to further develop and implement our fisheries management system. This year, we continued to introduce species into the QMS. By October 2005, nearly 60 species will have been introduced since 2001. This means that species comprising 95% of the total commercial harvest will then be managed under the QMS framework.
This allocation of commercial rights is an important step in progressing the new initiatives in fisheries management outlined in our Statement of Intent for 2005-2008. Principal among these is the development of management plans (called ‘fisheries plans’). These establish what we want to achieve for specific fisheries and detail implementation strategies and services (including research and compliance) to achieve these objectives. Fisheries plans will become the main tool for managing the sustainable use of fish stocks. The Ministry will lead their development with stakeholder input at each stage of the process. The first two or three ‘proof of concept’ plans will be developed over the next year.
Engaging with tangata whenua and other stakeholders
Managing our fisheries must be a cooperative effort. We must work together with all those with an interest in fishing and the aquatic environment. For this to happen, we need structures in place through which we can communicate and cooperate.
The Ministry – and other agencies – works closely with industry on research projects. For example, the Ministry, NIWA and the Orange Roughy Management Company worked together during the year to conduct a survey of the management area north east of the Chatham Islands. The area harbours the world’s largest population of this valuable species. The survey used a combination of acoustic and trawl survey methods with both NIWA and industry vessels.
Working with customary and recreational fishers We have provided a basis for improving engagement with customary fishers through the appointment of Pou Hononga. This has already proved beneficial with the establishment of regional forums with iwi groups. They are also helping to implement kaimoana regulations for customary harvest.
We have set up six new regional forums to improve the input of recreational fishers into fisheries management and statutory processes and a Recreational Advisory Group to advise the Minister.
Environmental interests
Responsible fishing also demands that the interests of nonextractive users of the marine environment be understood. The relationship between the Ministry and environmental groups has not been as fruitful in the past as it might have been. We intend to step up our efforts in the future through the organisation of regular meetings with national leaders of those groups.
Improving the availability of information
We need good information to manage fisheries well. If managing fisheries is to be a cooperative effort, we must also have effective means of disseminating that information to stakeholders. The Ministry has been working towards achieving these goals over a number of years. Each year we produce a significant report on the status of QMS species. We have invested in improving the quality of catch and effort data and observer information.
We have also improved access to information about the aquatic environment through our National Aquatic Biodiversity Information System (NABIS). Users can access NABIS to create multi-dimensional maps tailored to their needs. It works by creating many layers on a base map of land or sea, showing at a glance all information relating to a particular geographic area.
Some of this work was in response to a 1999 report to Parliament by the Auditor-General. The report concluded that the Ministry was managing most fish stocks without being sure if that management was sustainable. This year, the Office of the Auditor-General completed a follow-up review. Its report concludes that the recommendations from the earlier report were being implemented. It also notes that the Ministry is focusing increasingly on the work needed to protect the marine environment from the effects of fishing. The Ministry’s strategy for managing the environmental effects of fishing is discussed later in this section. Work is still required in defining standards to be adopted to measurethe effectiveness of the strategy.
The focus on gathering and disseminating information will continue. Later this year, stakeholders will be able to access vastly improved fisheries information on our website. We are continuing to progress work on the website of environmental performance indicators’ programme for fishing and the marine environment. We are also planning a periodic publication on sustainable utilisation. These initiatives will help give all those with an interest in sustainable fisheries management ready access to good information.
We are also investing $1 million per year in 2005/06 and the following three years for scientific research in the recreational fishery.