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Fryday Fryup – 17 June

June 17, 2016 Welcome to the FryUp – a regular look back at the week of fishing in the news. Double the primary exports It’s Fieldays time again and so the Ministry for Primary Industries is talking up the future of all things edible. The goal – to double primary exports to $64 billion a year by 2025. Currently, […]

Barry Torkington: It’s time we knew the truth about our quota system

June 15, 2016 What a shambles our fisheries management is in, claim and denial met by counter claim and more strident denial. The public relations outfits must be licking their lips and counting the dollars. The average New Zealander just wants to know the truth, so here is the start. Of course fishermen dump fish over the side. […]

New Zealand’s international reputation at stake

June 15, 2016 For 30 years New Zealanders have been sold the line that our Quota Management System is a world leader when it comes to both protecting fish stocks and encouraging a culture of stewardship. Kiwis and the world have been sold a pup.

Sequence of failures gives reason for change

June 3, 2016 Revelations there have been no prosecutions after investigations into blatant fish dumping, catch misreporting, and high grading aboard coastal and deep sea trawlers are alarming. Even more disturbing is the refusal of officials to acknowledge and address the underlying problems embedded in the Quota Management System (QMS). Realistically, the Ministry for Primary Industries is never […]

Richard Baker: Who’s running our fisheries?

May 24, 2016 The Prime Minister once famously said that New Zealanders care more about snapper than the GCSB spying on Kiwis – and he may be right. The freedom to go out fishing, to bring home your catch and share the experience with family, friends and whanau is an essential part of New Zealand’s way of life. […]

Bouquets and brickbats for decisions

April 25, 2016 A central theme to the four recent management submissions to the Ministry for Primary Industries is the need for more precautionary management of our fish stocks. The Minister’s decisions, announced on March 17th, are a mixed bag, with cuts to commercial catch limits for selected scallop and crayfish stocks, and significant increases in surf clam […]

A community approach to marine protection

April 25, 2016 From a fisheries perspective it is very frustrating to watch the marine protection cum reserves debate occur without any intention to address the root causes of depletion – excessive fish catches, mobile bottom contact harvesting methods degrading habitats, and contaminants entering waterways choking nursery areas. LegaSea supported the recent submission by the New Zealand Sport […]

Now we know what fishing is worth

April 25, 2016 After two years of planning and research we now know what recreational fishing is worth to the New Zealand economy. Kiwis spend a billion dollars a year on recreational fishing but the benefits don’t stop at the fish on the end of the line. This expenditure ripples through the economy generating 1.7 billion dollars in […]

Curious proposals to protect marine areas

March 20, 2016 Recent government proposals to create recreational fishing parks in the Hauraki Gulf and Marlborough Sounds as a solution to enhancing recreational fishing are curious given that none of the measures will restore fish abundance or catchability. These recreational fishing parks have drawn attention away from the three other types of Marine Protected Areas proposed for […]