Changing Course - Towards Fisheries 2010

• Preface by Chief Executive
• Nature's limits: The challenge
• Net gains: The change of course
• Fisheries 2010: The twelve founding principles
• Guardianship: Our children's future
• Foresight for the future: Strategic issues
• Our common future: Working with stakeholders
• Next steps for the Ministry: Where to from here?
• Project 2010
• Conclusion
• Glossary

Copies of this document are available from the Ministry of Fisheries.

Changing Course: Sustainable fisheries in a healthy aquatic ecosystem

Glossary

Aquatic ecosystems means the natural systems of interacting aquatic life within the biological and physical aquatic environment.

Aquatic environment means the natural and biological resources comprising any aquatic ecosystem and includes all aquatic life and the oceans, seas, coastal areas, intertidal areas, estuaries, rivers, lakes and other places where aquatic life exists.

Aquatic life means any species of plant or animal life, whether living or dead, which at any stage in its life history, must inhabit water, and includes seabirds.

Biodiversity means the continued existence of the full range of all genetic material, species and ecosystems.

Ecosystem management means an holistic approach to managing natural systems recognising the inter-connections of species and habitat.

Habitat degradation means the modification of natural habitat. QMS means the Quota Management System based on individual transferable property rights used to manage New Zealand's commercial fisheries.

Stakeholders:
Fisheries - means all those individuals or groups with an interest in the sustainable utilisation of fisheries.
Ministry - means all those individuals or groups with an interest in the Ministry of Fisheries.

Stakeholders in the fishery can be distinguished from stakeholders in the Ministry of Fisheries. The distinction is displayed in the following diagrams.

Strategic foresight means a technique for analysing the long-term future of an industry, market or ecosystem.

Strategic intent means the choice of an overriding and inspirational goal for an organisation or nation to achieve over a 5-15 year time frame.

Sustainable fisheries means the sustainable utilisation of fisheries resources. Sustainable means: (a) maintaining the potential of fisheries resources to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations; (b) avoiding, remedying or mitigating any adverse effects of fishing on the aquatic environment. Utilisation means conserving, using, enhancing, and developing fisheries resources to enable people to provide for their social, economic and cultural well-being.

TAC means the total allowable catch in any fishery to ensure sustainability of that fishery.

Voluntary compliance means the behaviours that support the goals and requirements of fisheries management regimes.

Stakeholders in the fishery can be distinguished from stakeholders in the Ministry of Fisheries. The distinction is displayed in the diagrams below.