Changing Course - Towards Fisheries 2010

-

Inter-generational Equity:Use of fisheries resources should be carried out in a manner that sustains our economic, social and cultural values, without jeopardising the prospects of future generations.

-

Biodiversity:The utilisation of aquatic life should not compromise the existence of the full natural range of genetic material, species and ecosystems.

-

Environmental Bottom Lines:In managing the risks associated with the utilisation of fisheries, minimum biological standards that maintain ecological integrity will not be compromised.

-

The Precautionary Principle:Where there is limited knowledge or understanding about the potential for adverse environmental effects or the risk of serious or irreversible environmental damage from fishing, a precautionary approach must be used.

-

Research, Science and Technology:Research is crucial to gaining a better understanding of the environmental risks relating to the use of fisheries resources. Risk management strategies must be based on sound scientific research. In determining research priorities for fisheries, consideration should be given to the local, national, and international, and ecological dimensions of sustainable management.

-

Protecting our International Competitiveness:New Zealand will assist in protecting the international competitiveness of its fisheries businesses by improving its clean, green image, working with its trading partners to advance common interests, and playing a positive and active role internationally without getting out of step with other countries where this would significantly affect competitiveness.

-

Sustainable Property Rights:Fishing rights must be specified in a way that provides certainty and allocates responsibility to individual resource users to ensure that private and collective decisions achieve sustainable outcomes.

-

Least-cost Policy Tools:Government interventions should be evaluated to ensure that they are necessary and, if so, that the 'least cost' policy tools are adopted to achieve the desired environmental result.

-

Pricing of Infrastructure:The cost of access to fishery resources should reflect all costs related to providing such access including the cost of establishing and maintaining the necessary infrastructure. For instance, this would include the cost of research, administration and enforcement directly related to the Quota Management System being met by the commercial fishing industry.

-

Internalisation of External Environmental Costs:Fisheries management policy should ensure that the unpriced environmental and spillover effects (or external costs) associated with fishing are 'internalised', that is, they are assessed and consistently charged, where appropriate, to those who cause the effect.

-

Defining the Limits of Fishery Resource Use and Substitution:To achieve sustainable management, there is a need to recognise opportunities for substitution of other production methods, while accepting community requirements for limits on depletion.

-

Social Costs and Benefits:Policies should be formulated and implemented to ensure that environmental, social and economic goals are mutually supportive.

-

Depletion due to persistent over-fishing, leading to the collapse in a commercial fishery or a non-commercial fishery, and attendant social and economic dislocation.

-

Potential long-term damage to habitat caused by fishing.

-

Contamination of the aquatic ecosystem by natural events (eg, algal bloom or disease) or human activities (eg, oil pollution, run-off, or sedimentation).

-

Introduction of harmful new species and diseases, for example, through discharge of ballast from ships.

-

Damage to threatened and endangered species and their habitat from fishing.

-

Risks to Maori customary fisheries.

-

Risks to the devaluation of commercial fishing rights.

-

Risks to the quality of recreational fishing.

-

High levels of non-compliance with fisheries laws.

-

Public awareness of environmental issues will continue to rise. New Zealanders, and the rest of the global community, will be increasingly concerned about environmental aspects of their quality of life and overall well-being.

-

Consumers will demand and pay a premium for food products, such as sea food, that are not only healthy but have been produced in an ecologically sustainable way.

-

A change in values is occurring with increasing priority being placed on the environment and non-human species for their own sake. The ability to take a child to fish for spotties, or to go on a diving expedition for paua, holds a value that cannot simply be expressed in financial terms. Similarly, the right of Maori to collect kaimoana for hui or tangi has a cultural importance beyond monetary value.

-

There will be increasing recognition by society of the importance of upholding traditional Maori access to kaimoana. Treaty of Waitangi issues in relation to resource management will continue to be addressed.

-

Society will become more diverse as a result of demographic changes, for example in ethnicity and age. There are now, and will continue to be, changes in family structures and types of employment.

-

Disparities in levels of participation in society and the economy will place fishery management systems under increasing pressure. This could add cost to the enforcement, justice and social welfare systems.

-

Information technology is likely to force changes in work systems and patterns, and in the ways decision-making occurs. Greater access to information will result in increased transparency in decision-making and thus, greater accountability of decision-makers.

-

So-called 'virtual' organisations, based around new technologies such as video conferencing, the Internet and remote/mobile office technology, are likely to emerge.

-

New technologies will emerge for researching, catching and processing fish including genetic markers, reduction of waste, modelling, acoustics and satellite navigation. Changes to aquaculture technology are also likely.

-

Progressive degradation of the biosphere as a result of population growth and pollution will continue, unless sustainable development can be achieved internationally.

-

Moves towards ecosystem based management of natural resources resulting from changes in society's values. These values changes are driven by such factors as the perception of risk (consequences of global warming, ozone depletion, pollution), an ability to internationally model biological systems, scientific linkages such as the link between pollution of the food chain and long-term negative impacts on food production and human health, and global access to information.

-

The quality of our environment will be a critical success factor in increasing exports of primary products. Industry will increasingly see sound environmental management as being in its enlightened self-interest.

-

Global warming and the warming of the sea will impact on aquatic life, cause changes in atmosphere and salinity, and sea level and current changes.

-

Other key trends include the growth and impact of population, habitat degradation, the threat to biodiversity, over-fishing and pollution.

-

Open Government is here to stay. There will be continuing pressure for even greater openness and accountability in such areas as access to official information in Total Allowable Catch setting, and in determining funding for the management of fisheries resources.

-

Changes in our electoral system will significantly alter the way our system of government operates - minority or coalition governments will become the norm.

-

A wider range of views will be reflected in decisions made at a political level.

-

Government agencies will be accountable to both the Minister and increasingly to a Select Committee, each of which may employ their own policy advisers.

-

There will be continuing social demands for a more co-operative style of decision-making, and demands for a closer alignment of policy with New Zealanders' values.

-

The Treaty of Waitangi will continue to be recognised as the founding document of the nation and will continue to influence policy development and decision-making at all levels of government.

-

Greater responsibility for decision-making will be given to regional government, local communities and individuals.<

-

Fulfilling our international obligations such as UNCLOS (the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), the Convention on Biological Diversity, the FAO International Code of Conduct on Responsible Fishing, and the UN Convention on Straddling Stocks and Highly Migratory Species.

-

Increasing recognition that nation states cannot manage environmental issues unilaterally resulting in increasing collective action on such issues.

-

Roles and responsibilities for managing fisheries will be clarified. There will be increased participation in, and understanding of, the decision-making processes which relate to fisheries.

-

The new approach to decision-making at a political level will change the nature of the Ministry's relationships with stakeholders. Policy advice development from Ministries will increasingly be across departments, requiring new ways of workingand changes to the nature of influence.

-

Relationships with stakeholders will be affected by changes in policy, legal and consultative frameworks.