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Tasman
quota cut mooted| Growth has lead
to conflict | Fishing decline
causes concern
Industry rationalises | BOP
snapper stock "very low" | "Drastic"
reduction needed
Locals still fish out of Island
Bay | Size limit row | Warning
on overfishing
Tasman
quota cut mooted
A
recommendation that the Tasman Bay snapper quota be
cut from 1000 tonnes to 600 tonnes has been put to the
Minister of Fisheries.
And in a further move, designed to protect two and three
year old snapper, it has been suggested that nursery
areas in shallow coastal waters of the bay be closed
to fishing.
These
moves come from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
and the Fishing Industry Board following a series of
meetings with fishermen in the Nelson area.
The
conservation recommendations follow a warning from fisheries
scientists that continued exploitation of Tasman Bay's
two and three year old snapper risks dangerously lowering
spawning stock.
"The
Tasman Bay snapper fishery should be managed on the
principle of maximising the yield per recruit," say
scientists Jim Mace (Nelson) and Kevin Sullivan (Wellington).
"This
would provide the greatest sustained returns, maintain
enough spawning fish and provide amateurs with a reasonable
chance of catching snapper," they state in a joint report.
"The
present fishing pattern, where snapper are heavily exploited
from an early age and the accumulated stock of older
fish is being depleted, risks reducing total spawning
stock so much that recruitment is affected.
"Exploitation
at age two and three, as occurs at present, is obviously
resulting in less than maximum yield and risks dangerously
lowering the spawning stocks," the scientists warn.
"We
consider it necessary to protect the younger snapper
for maximum future yield."
"The
accumulated stock of old snapper should be fished gradually
while the benefits of this protection develop - this
will ensure that enough spawning fish remain and provide
stability of catch and income for the industry."
In
their report, Messrs Mace and Sullivan say the large
snapper catches in Tasman Bay in the past years followed
the introduction of more efficient single trawling,
pair trawling and purse seining.
"The
large catches by these methods in the past three years
have only been achieved by fishing down the stock accumulated
over many years."
"These
large catches, therefore, cannot be expected to last
indefinitely."
Stating that short-term gains at the expense of the
future of the Tasman Bay fishery are not acceptable,
the scientists listed the following methods of conservation
that could be considered:
 |
Controls
of fishing to obtain the maximum long-term yield. |
|
Closure
of snapper nursery areas. |
|
Increasing
the mesh size of nets. |
|
Reintroduction
of a minimum size limit. |
|
Protection
of younger spawning fish. |
|
Maintenance
of spawning stock through quotas or banning some
fishing methods. |
Source: Commercial Fishing, October 1980.
Growth
has lead to conflict
by
Dr Robin Allen, Assistant Director, FRD, Wellington
The
growth of the fishing industry in New Zealand waters
since the removal of restrictive licensing in 1963 has
led to conflicts over who should have access to particular
resources. The conflict exists at all levels in local
fisheries where fishermen who use small open boats,
often within a few miles of their homes, are threatened
by trawlers which might be based a considerable distance
away.
Some
fishermen based at particular ports feel that they should
have some rights to exclusive access to an area around
their port to avoid competition with fishermen from
other ports.
Medium-sized
trawlers, who must make their living from the prime
inshore species such as snapper and tarakihi, are concerned
that larger trawlers which have been purchased to fish
in deeper waters are also attracted to the prime inshore
species. In other cases, larger New Zealand vessels
are faced with competition from foreign licensed vessels,
chartered, and soon very large New Zealand vessels,
when exploiting species such as hake, hoki, orange roughy
and skipjack.
Because
fisheries are still common property resources, these
conflicts, and the underlying over-capitalisation of
some parts of the industry, cannot be solved either
economically or amicably without some management from
Government.
Fisheries
management practices
Throughout the world, there
is a rich history of fisheries management attempts to
cope with the problem of too much fishing effort, declining
stock, and industry difficulties. The most common approaches
have been to restrict the efficiency of fishermen by
forbidding certain methods or fishing gear, to restrict
effort by using closed seasons or limiting entry, imposing
a total quota.
It
is now widely recognised that these methods often fail
to reduce fishing effort, and always unnecessarily increase
the cost of fishing. For example, when closed seasons
are used to restrict effort in an economically attractive
fishery, the result is usually over-capitalisation as
more effort is applied in shorter time periods. Thus
effort is not controlled, and the over-capitalisation
results in higher costs.
In
the last 25 years, increasing attention has been given
to the idea that the major purposes of fisheries management
are social and economic and that fisheries resources
should be managed to provide the maximum benefit to
the community as a whole, including the fishing industry,
consumers, and recreational users.
Future
management to obtain the optimum use of fisheries is
likely to entail a move from using them as a common
property resource, to some form of ownership and control,
analogous to the change from common property use to
individual ownership which occurred long ago in most
land use. While fish remain wild and migratory, the
type of ownership is not likely to be similar to that
of land ownership.
Indeed
the ownership pattern for land which has led to massive
environmental changes and severely restricts non-owners
of land, would not be generally acceptable for the marine
environment in today's society.
The
type of ownership that might be acceptable is ownership
of rights to harvest a portion of the available resources.
Source:
Catch, June 1983.
Fishing
decline causes concern
"It
is a tragedy for our industry that some fisheries have
declined to such an extent that many of those involved
will have to leave," the Chairman of the NZ Fishing
Industry Board, Mr Mark Hinchliff, told the last major
fisheries conference of the year recently.
Speaking
at the annual gathering of the NZ Seafood Processors'
and Exporters' Association, Mr Hinchliff described the
general acceptance of most within the fishing industry
that there was serious depletion of the inshore resource.
He
said the reduction in fishing effort that must take
place would affect owner-operator fishermen and boat
owning companies - but everyone in the fishing industry
had to share the responsibility for the decline in fish
stocks.
The industry had to work "hard and rapidly to restore
fishing effort to a rational and stable level."
"The
key aspect to bear in mind is that for most inshore
fisheries management measures will not provide a solution
in the first instance. The options which can be applied
to manage a fishery are well known to scientists and
economists, and are becoming more and more familiar
to you. Fisheries management is the second stage and
can only be effective after we have dealt with the first
stage - substantially reduced pressure on the resource."
Mr
Hinchliff said the quota system that was promising success
in the deep water fishery could be applied in the inshore.
It is to be used soon on barracouta.
"The
problem is that quotas are useless unless the quota
of the individual holder is large enough to provide
a reasonable profit. Similarly it is useless restricting
the catch by mesh size, area or seasons, because those
restrictions will simply increase the pressure on other
species and other areas."
He
said the FIB and other industry groups were striving
for a system acceptable both politically and to the
industry and which allowed those who had to leave to
do so with dignity.
Source:
Catch, September 1983.
Industry
rationalises
Dwindling
catches in combination with a continual increase in
operating costs has forced a rationalisation within
Taranaki's ailing fishing industry.
Dramatic
movements in the price of fuel and overheads and drastically
reduced catches during the last few seasons have left
many participants in the industry on the brink of financial
ruin.
Fresha
Fisheries, one of the three packaging houses in New
Plymouth succumbed to these pressures 12 months ago
and its operator, Loui Kuthy, went into receivership.
Group
Fish Distributors Ltd was forced into similar circumstances
in August this year. This has left Taranaki Fish Distributors,
a family concern, as the only fish packaging house still
viable.
Loui
Kuthy has been involved in the local fishing scene for
22 years. He placed his business in the hands of a receiver
after spending months battling to keep his interest
afloat.
He
continues to operate largely at the whim of his guarantor.
The
accountant attempting to salvage Group Fish, Charles
Worsely, is optimistic about the company's ability to
trade its way out of difficulty during the coming season.
Group
has survived the winter lull and its fortunes were boosted
by bumper catches last month.
However,
the company will have to wait until the end of the season
before a full assessment of its trading prospects can
be made.
Aiwin
Burr, the accountant handling the affairs of Fresha
Fisheries, said recently the future for the packaging
house also looked hopeful.
"The
factory won't be closing. The company's operations have
been rationalised," he said. There is now a greater
degree of interaction between the two fish houses in
receivership.
"The
strength of Fresha is in the ability of Loui Kuthy as
a fisherman," said Mr Burr. "Packaging and marketing
were the weaknesses of the company and large scale processing
has now ceased."
Fresha
supplies much of its catch to Group to process; the
company's energies are now concentrated almost solely
on fishing.
The
lack of throughput has been the main factor hampering
operations at the two processing houses. The reasons
for the diminishing fish returns is a matter of speculation
by those within the industry.
The
fishermen themselves believe foreign vessels are depleting
stock and blame the Government for fixing quotas they
consider are exhausting fishing grounds.
However,
Mr Kuthy does not agree that foreign activity is responsible
for depleted catches for the Taranaki fishermen. He
blames the situation on seasonal fluctuation and overfishing
by domestic boats.
"In
the days of the three-mile limit I competed with Japanese
fishermen and my returns were good," he said recently.
"There is not much competition from foreign vessels
on the west coast of the North Island and so if stocks
are being depleted the local fishermen are to blame."
Other
factors responsible for the slump in fortunes of the
local fishing industry are beyond the control of the
fishermen.
Weather
is a dominant force, dictating when boats can leave
Port Taranaki and the notoriously unpredictable conditions
on the west coast mean boats can remain idle at New
Plymouth for weeks on end.
And
fishermen in the province have no alternative means
to supplement their incomes says Milan Sisarich, who
has been involved in the industry for 37 years.
"At
other centres fishermen can pick fruit to do other odd
jobs to tide them through the slack periods. In Taranaki
they have nothing," he said.
The
boats that do put to sea face lean pickings. Catches
during the last five years have become progressively
smaller and many fishermen are faced with the prospect
of returning home with a fuel bill exceeding the catch
return.
Source:
Commercial Fishing, February 1981.
BOP
snapper stock "very low"
by Chris Francis and Gavin James,
FRD, Wellington
The
snapper stock in the Bay of Plenty is "very low", according
to FRD reseachers who recently spent 15 days in the
area in the most intensive survey of the species to
be undertaken there. Results seem to indicate that only
about 3900 tonnes of snapper are in the BPO.
If
it is accepted that the present Bay of Plenty snapper
resource is only about 4000 tonnes, then it is clear
that there will need to be a substantial drop in catches
to avoid driving the resource even lower. While the
stock remains at low levels, the risk of poor spawning
increases and although there is no evidence to show
this has happened, it would be unwise to allow the snapper
resource to remain at its currently low level for any
longer than is absolutely necessary.
Over
the next few months, we intend to refine these estimates
of snapper resource size and calculate the level of
harvesting which would allow the stock to rebuild to
optimum levels.
Source:
Catch, April 1983
"Drastic"
reduction needed
by Bob Elliott
RISING
costs, plus too many boats chasing too few fish, have
brought the inshore fishery to the point where there
has to be a drastic reduction in boat numbers.
This
is the view of the Fishing Industry Board which is giving
highest priority to ways and means of reducing the inshore
fishery effort.
Aboard
discussion paper from which proposals are being formulated
is believed to recommend a cut of 35 to 40 percent in
an effort to put the inshore fishery back on an economic
footing.
Source:
Commercial Fishing, Apri11983
Locals
still fish out of Island Bay
by Karen Dabrowska
WELLINGTON'S
two leading Italian fishing families - the Dellabarcas
and the Cataldos - are fighting a never-ending battle
with the wind in Cook Strait, rising fuel, maintenance
and equipment costs and falling fish numbers.
"Twenty
years ago, one boat caught 3600 groper a month - today
20 boats wouldn't even get 50 fish and competition with
joint venture boats has made things harder," said Jonny
Cataldo, who, like Tony Dellabarca, has been around
for more than 30 years. Before the Second World War,
Island Bay was a small Italian fishing village isolated
from the city by farmland. The Italians purchased or
leased shops at the end of the train terminus and sold
fish, pasta or culinary aids to the locals.
Island
Bay was the main fish supplier for greater Wellington
with about 50 boats. Today the fleet has about 12 boats.
"Before
you relied on your senses," Mr Cataldo said, "You heard
the fog horn warning you about a hidden steamer and
you breathed a sigh of relief when it went past. Now
radar has replaced the horns and it's a lot harder for
a skipper to make a mistake."
But
now the fishermen born in Italy are dying and their
sons are not encouraging their children to follow in
their footsteps.
During
the past 18 years Gilbert Bolt has left the fishing
industry a few times - but he always comes back.
He
is convinced that strict controls will have to be introduced
to make crayfishing worthwhile for those who keep on
fishing.
"Restricting
licensing was not the answer because those with licences
are doubling their pots- once they put out 60 pots,
now they are putting out between 150 and 200."
Source:
Commercial Fishing, February 1983
Size
limit row
LONGSTANDING
bitterness between commercial and amateur fishermen
over fish size limits erupted in Northland last month.
The bitterness turned into a full scale row when a commercial
fisherman claimed that amateurs were taking undersized
snapper by the "bucketful".
He
took a 14 cm snapper into the Whangarei newspaper, the
Northern Advocate, claiming that it was one of a bucketful
caught by an amateur the previous day. (The legal limit
for amateurs is 25 cm.)
The
size limits on most species of fish were lifted for
commercial trawling about four years ago.
The
Ministry of Agriculture's supervising fisheries officer,
Mr Don Young, said there had been no prosecutions for
taking undersized fish for a "number of years". But
he said his officers would act on any complaints received.
The
accusations caused a series of letters to the paper
from amateurs calling for a fish size limit to apply
to all commercial fishermen.
Warning
on overfishing
THERE
is strong evidence that New Zealand is in danger of
overfishing its 200-mile zone, according to an American
expert on resource management.
Professor
T.L. Vincent, a professor of aerospace and mechanical
engineering at the University of Arizona, was one of
the organisers of a workshop in Christchurch of 35 experts
in renewable resource management from the United States,
Australia and New Zealand.
The
extension of the New Zealand fishing zone was not matched
by a proportional increase in the staff needed to manage
the larger area, Professor Vincent said.
"The
extension immediately created a major problem of management
which requires a large interdisciplinary team involving
biologists, economists, engineers and mathematicians,"
he said.
Nine
major fishing areas in the world had 'crashed' in recent
years due mainly to poor resource management. "A real
danger exists in this country, for example, of one species
of fish being wiped out in a similar manner by overfishing
unless adequate management resources are applied."
The
harvesting of fish resources had effects on the total
biological pattern of sea life and this required close
cooperation between Australia, New Zealand and the United
States, which all faced similar problems.
"The
problem with widespread fishing is that systems do not
recover in a short time when they are fished by large
fleets."
"Fish
can be taken out at a high rate until one day you wake
up and find they are all gone," Professor Vincent said.
Source:
Commercial Fishing, March 1980.
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