Strategy for Managing the Environmental Effects of Fishing (SMEEF)

  SMEEF Draft Strategy (893KB)
The purpose of the Ministry of Fisheries Strategy for Managing the Environmental Effects of Fishing is to:

• implement an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries
• make significant improvements in managing the environmental effects of fishing
• ensure the Ministry of Fisheries (MFish) meets its environmental obligations under the Fisheries Act 1996 and other legislation in an efficient and consistent manner.

  SMEEF Doc (174KB)
The scope of this Strategy is management of the adverse effects of fishing on the aquatic environment. The term fishing refers to commercial, customary and recreational fishing. The Ministry of Fisheries has management responsibility for fisheries in both marine and freshwater environments. The policies contained in this Strategy are applicable to the adverse effects of all fishing (excluding fishing for whitebait, salmon and trout, which are managed under conservation legislation). Most fishing activity for which the Ministry of Fisheries has management responsibility occurs in the marine environment and, therefore, the primary focus of the Strategy is also the marine environment.

  SMEEF Workshop Agenda (12KB)
A one-day workshop will be held to allow academics, managers and stakeholder representatives with expertise and interest in the management of adverse effects of fishing on the aquatic environment to review the draft MFish Environmental Management Strategy. The role of the review is to identify how the document can be improved prior to being distributed for consultation.

  SMEEF Workshop Participation List (14KB)
List of people participating in the SMEEF one-day workshop.

  SMEEF Workshop Report (85KB)
Overall

1. the workshop appears to have provided an important measure of support for the overall approach of proceeding to develop an EMS to deal with the environmental issues in NZ fisheries, and specifically the focus on use of ‘standards’ as they main approach.
2. Many of the stakeholders informally expressed their support for an EMS, albeit most had questions and concerns about the detail, including issues of feasibility (technically possible in policy and science terms) and achievability (capacity and resources exist or could be conceivably secured).
3. Some stakeholders also were concerned about the broader policy context of the EMS, since it both directed and responded to a number of MFish and other government initiatives that were yet to be proven feasible and achievable, or were yet to be fully scoped into workable constructs, or were controversial in some stakeholder circles.

  SMEEF Workshop Summary Notes (23KB)
The following is a list of issues raised by individual participants at the Ministry of Fisheries workshop on the Environmental Management Strategy, held on 17 July. The issues listed are in no particular order, have not been prioritised, and their inclusion does not imply that there was consensus on the issue. In fact, some of the issues included in the list contradict others.