Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2002

Presented to the House of Representatives pursuant to Section 39 of the Public Finance Act, 1989

Contents

• Letter to Minister
• Our Vision
• Chief Executive’s Overview
• Strategic Context 2001/04
• Key Achievements
• Fisheries Research
• Ministry Performance For The Year Ended 30 June 2002
• Statement of Resources
• Terms and Definitions Used
• Legislation Administered by the Ministry of Fisheries at 30 June 2002
• Ministry Directory

Chief Executive's Overview

The last financial year was another busy and successful one for the Ministry of Fisheries in both the fisheries management and marine biosecurity areas.

First, the Ministry largely delivered its outputs, albeit with some slippages in the policy area, and kept within appropriations for both of the Votes and each of the seven output classes.

Total departmental operating expenditure was $6.957 million (excluding GST) below the Supplementary Estimates budget at 30 June 2002. This underexpenditure was due principally to changes in the timing of the tendering and contracting of fisheries research and biodiversity activities. The Ministry has received approval “in principle” to carry forward $5 million of the underspend into the 2002/03 financial year for those activities where commitments were entered into in the 2001/02 financial year.

Second, the implementation of the 1996 Fisheries Act and amendments from 1 October 2001 was extremely successful and we realised excellent results in our efforts to strengthen the Ministry’s capability. Our achievements in both of these areas are covered in more detail in the Key Achievements section of the report.

Work was commenced during the year and is ongoing on the updated strategic plan and Treaty strategy. Together with the Ministry’s contribution to the biosecurity strategy this work is significant in laying solid foundations for the future.

The Ministry continued to make a large contribution during the year to the development of an oceans policy for New Zealand. This work is strategically important for the Ministry, as the only agency all of whose activities fall under the ambit of oceans policy. Policy work recognises the need to manage human impacts on the oceans more effectively and the wish to ensure that New Zealand receives the best possible value from its oceans.

In relation to the Minister of Fisheries’ priority and related strategies, all of our work is consistent with a greater environmental focus and/or creating opportunities for more tangata whenua and stakeholder involvement.

Our greater environmental focus can be seen through: the Ministry’s contributions to the biodiversity strategy implementation, including biosecurity; increased environmental research; the development of our environmental management strategy; the development of a marine protected areas strategy; our contributions to aquaculture and marine reserves policy papers; and our policy delivery work relating to marine reserves and protecting New Zealand sealions and Hector’s dolphins.

Our greater involvement of tangata whenua and stakeholders can be seen through our Treaty strategy work; our recreational fisheries and aquaculture policy work; our work with industry in implementing the registry and other provisions of the 1996 Act and amendments; and our approach to updating the existing strategic plan. These activities are over and above our inclusive ongoing fisheries management and marine biosecurity processes.

My thanks go to all Ministry staff for their hard work and contributions to a successful 2001/02 financial year. I also thank the Ministers of Fisheries and Biosecurity and the two Associate Ministers for your support during the year.

W.R. Tuck
Chief Executive

Strategic Context 2001/2004

The Minister of Fisheries’ priority is to enhance the value and enjoyment of New Zealand’s fisheries for all New Zealanders. The Minister proposes to do this through strategies to:

• achieve a greater environmental focus for fisheries management
• create greater opportunities for stakeholder involvement in fisheries management, and
• improve the organisational capability of the Ministry.

These strategies are consistent with the government’s commitment to sustainable development and to fulfilling the Crown’s Treaty of Waitangi obligations. They are also consistent with recent improvements in the fisheries management legal framework and with the Ministry’s existing strategic intent of sustainable fisheries in a healthy aquatic ecosystem.

The Ministry has a number of environmental obligations that impact on all aspects of fisheries management. This means fisheries management must assume a stronger environmental focus, which recognises and manages the direct and indirect adverse effects of fishing on biological diversity, aquatic habitat and associated or dependent species. Our environmental obligations should guide proactive fisheries management and research.

Achieving sustainable fisheries in a healthy aquatic ecosystem relies on appropriate sharing of responsibility between the Ministry and stakeholders. To encourage stakeholder awareness and participation, the Ministry will continue to provide information on fisheries and the aquatic environment. It will also continue initiatives to:

• empower customary, recreational and commercial fishers and environmental groups to participate effectively in fisheries management, and
• take a more flexible approach to fisheries management.

The Ministry recognises that, to improve our ability to deliver good fisheries management outcomes, it needs to operate in different ways and develop new skills and systems. In the first half of the previous financial year, the Ministry completed a review of how it operates and identified ways to position the Ministry to improve delivery on its strategic direction.

During the 2001/02 financial year, the Ministry continued the implemention of that review to improve people capability, process integration, decision-making and business planning.