Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has released a consultation document outlining proposed amendments to the Fisheries Act.
Proposals include changes to set catch limits, limiting the scope of onboard cameras, and allowing fish discards to be disposed of at sea.
WWF-New Zealand’s CEO, Dr Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, says some of the proposals purportedly aimed at improving efficiency and flexibility for the industry will undermine the ability of decision-makers to manage our fisheries adaptively, which is what’s needed in the context of climate change.
“Given his constant bombastic screeching about climate alarmism, it’s hardly surprising that Jones is failing to set our commercial fisheries up for resilience in the face of our changing climate."
It’s also alarming to see there are proposals to exclude more vessels from the ‘cameras on boats’ programme, she says.
“We need more cameras - not fewer - and they should be extended to the entire commercial fishing fleet, including the deepwater fleet, which harvests the vast majority of New Zealand’s commercial catch.”
Kingdon-Bebb says early data from cameras on boats reveals stark under-reporting by the industry to date.
“Last year the first tranches of data from the ’cameras on boats’ programme revealed there had been stark under-reporting of discards and protected species bycatch by commercial fishers – with nearly a seven-fold increase in the number of dolphins captured and albatross interactions up by 3.5 times what was previously reported before cameras were rolled out.
“Having cameras on boats provides much better reporting data, which is required to underpin an adaptive management approach. It is essential for helping us better manage our commercial fisheries and the threats to our native species, and ensuring public and consumer confidence that our shared marine resources are being used responsibly.”
Greater transparency and accuracy in the reporting of protected species bycatch and non-target discards is incredibly important to ensure the sustainability of our marine resources now and into the future, she says.
"Export markets are increasingly sensitive to our sustainability credentials. This was illustrated recently - and dramatically - when the US banned imports of certain fish stocks from New Zealand because of concerns over dolphin bycatch deaths."
Kingdon-Bebb says WWF-New Zealand will be looking at the proposals in more detail but aspects of pre-set decision rules and Annual Catch Entitlement (ACE) carry-over have been controversial in the past.
“We need our regulatory controls to ensure long-term sustainability and be flexible enough to adapt to unforeseen changes from climate change.”
“Our ocean is in a sustained state of decline, with marine species on the brink of extinction and many of our commercial fish stocks overfished and depleted. We are already seeing negative impacts of climate change on fish stocks and critical marine ecosystems in Aotearoa New Zealand and globally.
“This is more short-sighted thinking from a Minister intent on pandering to the whims of industry lobbyists but failing to consider the longer term profitability and sustainability of the sector – or the costs future generations are going to have to shoulder.”