Seafood New Zealand welcomes the announcement of the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) biannual public consultation on sustainability measures for 22 fish stocks across New Zealand’s inshore and deepwater fisheries, and the opportunity to highlight New Zealand’s Quota Management System (QMS) working as intended.
Seafood New Zealand Chief Executive Lisa Futschek says, “These reviews demonstrate the fisheries management system working as it should. The independent regulator – MPI – collects data, tests assumptions, challenges the science through independent review processes, and proposes adjustments to management settings – whether that be up or down – based on the best-available information in consultation with the public.
“Fishers care deeply about our fisheries and marine environments. Our livelihoods as an industry rely on healthy, sustainable fisheries and looking after them properly, and these assessments are a significant component of that.”
This October sustainability round review includes proposals to significantly reduce catch throughout New Zealand’s tarakihi fisheries.
Ms Futschek says the environmental and recruitment conditions facing the tarakihi stocks are not new, and rebuild measures have been in place for the eastern stock since 2018.
Measures have included previous significant Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) reductions and other industry-led, voluntary measures to support recovery. Though disappointed at the proposed reduction, the review process demonstrates the fisheries management system responding to changing conditions and new information.
“The long-term health of the tarakihi stock is our first priority. Fishers remain committed to the rebuild of tarakihi stocks. To support their efforts, we urge government to continue to develop the science to make sure our management can be as effective as possible.
“There is increasing concern that broader environmental and ecosystem changes may be affecting tarakihi productivity and recruitment. Similar patterns are also being observed in Australian tarakihi stocks. Sustainable fishing means only harvesting an amount the environment can support.
Seafood New Zealand strongly supports further development of the tarakihi stock assessment model, particularly of the effects of fishing behaviour changes on the inputs to the model, and assumptions around tarakihi biology to inform an additional review next year.
Ms Futschek says the impact this proposed reduction will have on the livelihoods of many in the industry should not be understated, and calls for government, industry and all marine stakeholders to work together on practical solutions.
“We want to make sure we are working off the best possible information, as any decisions have real lasting consequences for the people behind our coastal communities.
“Rebuilding fisheries is rarely achieved through a single measure alone, and catch limits are just one tool in our toolbox,” Ms Futschek says.
