The Ministry in Transition

Another achievement this year has been to introduce an additional 21 species into the QMS. By October 2005, species comprising 95% of the total commercial harvest will be managed under the QMS framework.

Now that commercial rights are substantially allocated, the Ministry can focus on adjusting tools and services to improve the effectiveness of management and value provided to all sectors. New Zealand is the only country in the world that has such a large proportion of species successfully managed in a quota system.

Quota allocation has provided a secure platform for investment and development. While the industry has had a tough year as a result of high fuel costs, the high dollar and relatively stable commodity prices, the asset value of quota continues to increase.

We are investing for the future

This year we have aligned the organisation behind our new strategy by improving our organisational integration and investing in our people and our infrastructure.

This year we have aligned the organisation behind our new strategy by improving our organisational integration and investing in our people and our infrastructure. We have put together a new leadership team and a new structure, including an enlarged fisheries sciences group, enabling us to place more emphasis on environmental management. We have reorganised our Compliance group to align its activities with fisheries outcomes. Its services are now coordinated nationally with resources focused in areas where non-compliance is having the biggest impact on fisheries. We have also moved to integrate the Ministry’s service groups more closely, recognising the need to communicate and work together in a meaningful way. A number of internal management committees have been established to ensure better integration on specific issues, such as developing our planning documents, monitoring overall performance of the Ministry, overseeing Ministry-wide information and risk management, and to ensure we make progress on delivering our obligations to Maori from the Deed of Settlement and the Aquaculture Settlement.

This year we have commenced a number of medium-term investments aimed at replacing outdated and inadequate technology. We are investing in a new website, a new document management system, a new financial system, and a radio network and call centre for our frontline Fishery Officers. Other investments reflect knowledge gained from past experience. The Scampi Inquiry process, for example, showed that a better system was needed to manage historical records. We have also introduced this year a new feedback and complaints policy for stakeholders. This supports our desire to be accessible to, and in dialogue with, our various stakeholders.

Departures

During the year, the former Chief Scientist, Dr John Annala, left the Ministry after 30 years of service to New Zealand fisheries research, to head up a new fisheries research laboratory in the United States. John rightly enjoys a reputation as a world-class fisheries scientist and we are indebted to his input into all aspects of New Zealand fisheries management.

More recently we farewelled Mike Arbuckle, who has taken up a two-year secondment in Rome with the Fisheries Department of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. The focus of his work will include the FAO’s Indian Ocean tsunami relief programme for rebuilding affected coastal fishing communities and their devastated fisheries in a long-term sustainable way. With his strategic thinking and the intellectual rigour of his approach, Mike has made a significant contribution to the development of New Zealand’s fisheries management.

facing the ship forward

The 2004/05 year leaves us well placed to break new ground in sustainable fisheries management in the future. The Ministry is an agency working in a challenging sector with big responsibilities. New Zealand can be proud of our robust fisheries management system. The QMS produces good environmental and economic benefits. We have a settlement that addresses indigenous rights and mechanisms to give effect to those rights for Maori. The achievements to date provide a good base to build on as we begin a new era in fisheries management.