Management of foreign charter fishing vessels

The New Zealand government supports the use of foreign charter vessels (FCVs) but believes that the right to use one comes with responsibilities.

Concerns were raised about the safety, standard and operation of foreign fishing vessels chartered by New Zealanders to fish in New Zealand waters. In response, a major review of management controls for FCVs was conducted by the Ministry of Fisheries, together with industry.

This year a new regime for FCVs was announced and came into effect on 1 July 2008.

The changes to the management regime fall within four main areas:

• A minimum standard for the provision of food, accommodation and amenities for MFish observers on board, including minimum requirements for observer cabins and bathroom facilities and a minimum head height of 1.9 metres in the area of an observer’s factory work-station.
• A risk-based approach to placing observers on vessels, with increased levels of observer coverage on vessels considered high risk.
• Greater safety assurance through increased cooperation with Maritime New Zealand.
• Improved registration and approval processes including more rigorous risk assessment and screening of foreign vessels and crew and compulsory pre-registration inspection by fishery officers.

These changes are designed to ensure the integrity of the Quota Management System and provide a safe and secure working environment for MFish observers.

The new regime has been extensively consulted on with the fishing industry. A review group comprising MFish staff and representatives of major fishing companies and different sectors of the fishing industry that use FCVs has worked to develop the new requirements. The proposals were then consulted on publicly before any final decisions were made.

It will be a legal requirement to comply with the new regime. Any vessels that do not comply with the minimum requirements or are considered to pose an unacceptable risk will not be registered to fish in New Zealand. Any registered vessel that breaches the regime will be ordered to remedy the situation and may be prosecuted or denied re-registration.

Fishers have been given one year to fully implement these new requirements.