Challenges
Over the next few years the Ministry has a number of important challenges to meet the Government's priorities of economic transformation and enhancing national identity:
- Enable stakeholders to maximise value from the sustainable use of fisheries.
- Improve engagement by all stakeholders in fisheries management processes.
- Build constructive working relationships with Mäori, and robust systems and processes, to deliver settlement obligations.
- Implement objectives-based management, including the development of fisheries plans and fisheries standards.
- Improve fisheries information and processes to support objectives-based management.
- Strengthen the operation of the rights-based framework, including addressing issues related to the management of shared fisheries.
- Continue to improve environmental performance, including undertaking research into impacts of fishing, the development and implementation of environmental standards, and establishment of Marine Protected Areas.
- Work with stakeholders to encourage sustainable aquaculture development.
- Improve compliance with the Fisheries Act 1996 and Regulations in the territorial sea and EEZ, and reduce illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing on the high seas.
- Contribute to improved management of international fisheries and better access for New Zealand fishers to fisheries beyond the New Zealand EEZ, and to international markets.
- Promote improvements in marine sector management through initiatives such as the Oceans Policy.