https://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/speech-seafood-new-zealand-2015-conference

Get your thinking caps on – this is going to happen fast,going to be high level, and is the first substantive chance in a long time for real improvements. And it could just as easily go the other way. Life is often like that. Our job is to ensure it doesn’t go backwards.

Geoff Rowling,
President NZRFC
Geoff.rowling@xtra.co.nz
0274 593557

According to the World Bank, 85 per cent of ocean fisheries are fully exploited, over-exploited or depleted [EPA]
A coalition of governments, international organisations and other groups have joined forces with the World Bank to confront threats to the health of the planet’s oceans.

Launching the Global Partnership for Oceans on Friday, Robert Zoellick, the president of the World Bank said marine life was threatened by over-fishing, loss of habitat and environmental degradation.

“Send out the S-O-S: We need to Save Our Seas,” said Zoellick, speaking at the World Oceans Summit in Singapore.

“The world’s oceans are in danger, and the enormity of the challenge is bigger than one country or organisation. We need co-ordinated global action to restore our oceans to health. Together we’ll build on the excellent work already being done to address the threats to oceans, identify workable solutions, and scale them up.”

The bank hopes to raise $1.5bn in the next five years to protect oceans.

Zoellick said the partnership would bring together “countries, scientific centres, NGOs, international organisations, foundations and the private sector to pool knowledge, experience, expertise, and investment around a set of agreed upon goals”.

About 85 per cent of ocean fisheries are fully exploited, over-exploited or depleted, including most of the stocks of the top 10 species, according to Zoellick.

“The facts don’t lie and the statistics are we are not doing enough, we are not accomplishing enough and the oceans continue to get sick and die,” he said.

Zoellick proposed several 10-year targets for the partnership, including rebuilding at least half of the world’s fish stocks.

Marine protected areas should be more than doubled, he said, noting that less than two per cent of the oceans’ surface was protected, compared to about 12 per cent of land.

On the economic side alone the implications were enormous if little was done, he told the gathering.

In developing countries, one billion people depend on fish and seafood for their primary source of protein and over half a billion rely on fishing as a means of livelihood, Zoellick said.

For developing countries, including many island and coastal nations, fish represent the single most traded food product, and for many Pacific Island states fish make up 80 percent of total exports.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Martin’s presentation is based on his report, “Keep Australia Fishing” commissioned in Australia by the Australian Fishing Trade Association in 2010.

Click here.

Therefore, the Council is grabbing the opportunity to attend the 6th World Recreational Fishing Conference (WRFC) to be held in August, 1-4, 2011 at the Humboldt-University in Berlin (Germany). By learning from the world’s best practices and networking with fishers and experts internationally, the Council can contribute the best available information to discussions on the future of New Zealand recreational fishing.

Globalisation and international networking are two tools to assisting Kiwis find the best pathway for a better recreational fishing future.  The theme of the WRFC is Towards Resilient Recreational Fisheries and it is the only conference of its kind in the world that is wholly focused on recreational fishing issues. It thus will be examining issues of recreational fishing that we in NZ only scratch the surface on.

At this point of Fostering Change in the recreational fisheries sector, it is timely to be able to learn off international experience and shortcut the journey to a better future.  Participants from New Zealand and Australia have attended previous WRF conferences and have remarked on the invaluable experience gained.

As Martin Salter said in his recent comprehensive report Keep Australia Fishing,

“Currently there is too much of a culture of reaction, complaint and protest rather than working jointly towards a shared vision on a common policy.” The Council is wholly focused on positively fostering a process that engages Kiwi fishers to design their preferred future.

It is time for Kiwi fishers to step up to stewardship to ensure ongoing access to abundant fisheries into the future. The question is how can we best give effect to our recreational fishing rights and undertake our responsibilities for stewardship of the resources we hold so dear.  The answer is held collectively by us all and we have an individual responsibility to put our ideas forward.

Learn more about the World Recreational Fishing Council by following this link

NZRFC President Geoff Rowling has the following to say about the Minister’s invitation, timed just days before the NZRFC national conference and close enough to the national election to be worth political points:

Fear that proposed drop of Brodifacoum in the Whangaporoa Harbour will have detrimental impacts on marine life.  Read what Past President Keith Ingram has to say on the issue in the attached letter.RFC Brodifacopum

We are in an election year with Ministers keen to demonstrate what they have achieved in the last term so we might give them our vote. Want to hear what the Minister of Fisheries has to say about the National promise for recreational only areas for fishing….

On the 4th February 2011 the Minister of Fisheries, Hon Phil Heatley met with members of the NZRFC executive to discuss current issues.  Topics covered included the Council’s strategic direction to foster change to a better future as well as Marlborough Blue Cod, East Coast Crayfish, the impending merger of MFish and MAF and the election promise to establish recreational only fishing areas.  The Minister gave a concerning response when asked for an update on progressing with recreational only fishing areas. He has been in discussions with the commercial seafood industry finding out what areas the commercial fishers would be prepared to consider as recreational only areas.  He commented that he had come to the conclusion that any recreational only areas would be for finfish only and not for sessile species as “they are too valuable commercially.”

Once again this is a situation where the priority is on understanding and managing the needs of the commercial seafood industry and the secondary issue becomes how recreational interests can fit. It is not a proactive understanding of recreational fishing needs and interests. How about talking with recreational fishers about the areas? Where might they be, how big, for what kind of fishing and what species? This is not an attack on the commercial seafood industry. After all, maybe the Minister talked with them over this issue because they have certain characteristics attractive to a Minister wanting to avert risk in his decision making.  They are visible, are powerful and speak with a coordinated voice.  The recreational sector on the other hand are less visible with the majority of recreational fishers non affiliated to any fishing club or organisation, are weak with miniscule resources to call on and little political influence and speak with many voices.  Having to accept any decisions the Minister makes on recreational only areas is just a continuation of the powerless role recreational fishers in New Zealand find themselves in.  While the fishing is good in your local area, this weak position is just fine, but when things aren’t so good and recreational fishers want to do something about it, they find there is little pathway to tread and few tools to wield in making change.