Articles

Fryday FryUp – 30 September

September 30, 2016 Independent inquiry, conspiracy of silence, LegaSea poll, a baby blue whale feeding and seabed mining. MPI – time to cut the chain? John Key and Minister Nathan Guy must be starting to wonder when is the best time to cut their losses and jettison fisheries matters into a new ministry, as far from the Primary […]

QC labels MPI inaction flawed

September 29, 2016 Startling evidence confirming gross under reporting of total catch from our fisheries came to light with the release of a report by Dr. Glenn Simmons earlier this year. The research, spanning 60 years of reporting to the United Nations, was accompanied by the leaking of two draft reports from the Ministry for Primary Industries. It […]

Prime territory but where are the crayfish?

September 29, 2016 Crayfish numbers are so low in the Hauraki Gulf and surrounding northeast coast that University of Auckland researchers are referring to them as “functionally extinct”. This means they are no longer fulfilling their role in the marine ecosystem. This is dire news for both the environment and the public. In 2014 the New Zealand Sport […]

Mixed bag of Ministerial decisions

September 28, 2016 Nathan Guy, the Minister for Primary Industries, has announced his decisions for the future management of five South Island fish stocks including bluenose, snapper, paua, John dory and jack mackerel. The decisions are a mixed bag, with cuts to commercial catch limits for bluenose, jack mackerel and paua, and increases for John dory and snapper. […]

Chance to rebuild Southern Scallops

September 28, 2016 Nathan Guy’s recent decision to close the Scallop 7 fishery around the top of the South Island is welcome news. The closure applies to all scallop fishing, commercial and non-commercial. New management measures will be discussed and hopefully agreed before the start of the next season, in July 2017. LegaSea is pleased with this outcome, […]

Mixed views on snapper plan

September 28, 2016 After two years and 26 joint meetings, the proposed management plan for Snapper 1 on the northeast coast has been released. Given the substantial investment of time and money from recreational fishers the plan is a disappointment, mainly because only issues that could be agreed by all parties were included in the document. We have […]

Fryday FryUp – 23 September

September 23, 2016 Welcome to the FryUp – a regular look back at the week of fishing in the news. MPI flounders and confounds The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has had a turgid seven days. It kicked off this time last week with the release of the Heron Report into the decision why no prosecutions would be […]

A Commission of Inquiry is the only answer

September 21, 2016 Leaked documents show the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has been aware of widespread fish dumping for years yet not acted to prosecute the offending commercial fishers. These papers highlight deeply rooted problems with the management of fisheries. Now recreational fishing and environmental interests are calling for a Commission of Inquiry into the Quota Management […]

MPI needs to be overhauled following damning report

September 16, 2016 The Heron Report into why the Ministry for Primary Industries did not prosecute fish dumping paints a picture of an incompetence. The Report, which follows revelations that the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has filmed fishing boats engaging in illegal activity over a period of several years, says the decision not to prosecute was “flawed” […]

Fryday FryUp – 16 September

September 16, 2016 Welcome to the FryUp – a regular look back at the week of fishing in the news.  It’s official. It’s all our fault. That’s right – never mind the trawlers, the overfishing and the dumping. Apparently the biggest risk to our fisheries future is recreational fishers and we need to regulate them at once. That’s […]