Once again the NZ Rec Fish Council has been busy drafting a submission to MPI on this topic.
Thanks to Keith Ingram for his work on drafting this on our behalf.

MAIN POINTS:

“We remain concerned that the current CPUE is 0.253 point just .003 off tumbling. We note that in the BoP the CPUE appears to have been strengthened by the reopening of Astrolabe Reef after the RENA grounding, with commercial regaining access to the imposed exclusion area. Without this added bonus who knows where the fishery might be.

We have reviewed our position and looked seriously at the 100t on the table offered by both commercial and Maori.”

The full submission to MPI can be read below, along with a supplementary submission to the Management Group.
As always, we would welcome your comments on this.

• Rock Lobster Submission to MPI by NZ Recreational Fishing Council Feb 2018 (click here to download PDF 600KB)
• Supplementary Submission to National Rock Lobster Management Group (click here to download PDF 50KB)

The full submission is available below. In summary, it reads as follows:
The New Zealand Recreational Fishing Council is heartened to see the increased stock status of the Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT) which is now allowing for an increase in the allowance to New Zealand. This shows that the management procedure is working for this species and the target level of biomass will be reached by 2035. It is important that New Zealand takes the opportunity to utilize its increased allocation as given by the CCSBT. It is imperative that this highly migratory stock continues to be managed within the pacific, with New Zealand taking its full part in the management of this very valuable resource. Last year 2017 the recreational sector had an exceptional year catching SBT. The increasing ability of social media to spread the word of Bluefin catches meant that recreational fishers flocked to the East Coast mainly Waihau Bay.
Now that this event has happened, will it happen again? With good weather and sea conditions. These fish have always been there with recreational fishers just not aware of their proximity. Our total allowable catch (TAC) needs to be accounted for so that New Zealand stays within its allowance of 1,088 t allocated to it.
The recreational catch from last year was reported to MPI but you are several tonne short in your allocation. This needs to be adjusted.
The NZRFC was in favour of Option 3 (refer submission). (or do we include a link or attachment with the newsletter

Additional Recommendations

• The recreational sector wants to suggest that MPI considers placing a limit on recreational fishers of 1 Southern Bluefin Tuna per angler
• Make the dumping of fish by recreational fishers illegal. This would then line-up with the standards that the commercial fishery are subjected to. This dumping is not just occurring at sea but also on land and this needs to be addressed in legislation.
• Education on the correct handling practises on board vessels within the recreation fleet, that produce good quality Tuna for consumption. This includes putting in place the necessary infrastructure before the season starts e.g. Ice.

This is a copy of the  NZRFC’s recent submission filed with the Highly Migratory Species Team Ministry for Primary Industries.

Submission by NZ Recreational Fishing Council Feb 2018 (click here to download PDF 300KB)

The planned reorganisation of the Ministry for Primary Industries will create four new branches with a specific focus on fisheries, forestry, biosecurity and food safety.

Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash said, “The establishment of Fisheries New Zealand is a tightly focused change which will go a long way towards improving public confidence in the way fisheries are managed. The reorganisation provides clearer lines of accountability for fisheries management decisions.”

Nash said the changes “strike the optimum balance between enhancing fisheries management while minimising disruption to staff and operations within MPI.”

“It means that as Minister I can have confidence in the way fisheries officials carry out government policy. It means that the many individuals, agencies, iwi and businesses with a stake in fisheries have a clear picture of accountability within the sector.”

“It also means Fisheries New Zealand can be upfront about its work and its expectations for how the fisheries resource is harvested and protected.”

“The new body will work to strengthen relationships with iwi, recreational and commercial fishing representatives, the environmental sector and other local communities.”

Nash called the changes “an important first step towards ensuring a sustainable and abundant fishery.”

More info here: 
www.beehive.govt.nz/release/dedicated-body-fisheries-management

Since its formation in 1992, the NRLMG has been the primary source of advice to MPI (formerly the Ministry for Fisheries) and the relevant Minister on New Zealand’s rock lobster fisheries. The NRLMG has a good track record in providing robust advice on rock lobster sustainability measures, including total allowable catch reviews and management procedure development.

The NZRFC has maintained two recreational representatives on this group since its inception. The current representatives are Geoff Rowling South Island and Keith Ingram North Island with George Zander as the ‘alternate’.

Current key issues are:

• CRA2: with the commercial CPUE and recreational catches at an all-time low.
• CRA3: the ongoing inequity caused by the commercial autumn/winter differential commercial MLS (52mm males) remains a major concern for the people of Gisborne.
• CRA5: Charter boats activity is of primary concern and current estimates have this legitimate take approaching the recreational allowance for all of CRA5.
• CRA4-7-8 all have management issues under observation and action.
• Telson clipping: this initiative is being trialled in CRA5 with a view to roll it out nationally.

For further information contact Margaret Wind Executive Officer NZRFC

The project released three reports. What’s the Catch? analysed New Zealand’s management of fisheries, and The Overseas Catch compared New Zealand’s situation to that of selected overseas jurisdictions.

The Future Catch was released on 1 August as a consultation draft, followed by 14 public meetings up and down the country to discuss draft recommendations.

In its final form, The Future Catch recommends, amongst other things, increasing the biomass of shared fisheries to target levels, developing a recreational fishing policy and establishing a peak body to represent recreational fishing interests https://nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-media/reports/thefuturecatch/

The proposed peak body is designed around Recfishwest in Western Australia, which has been effective in improving recreational fisheries and bringing about changes in commercial fisheries to benefit recreational fishers https://recfishwest.org.au/

The Future Catch was launched on 4 December. The Minister of Fisheries, Hon Stuart Nash, joined the panel discussion. He commended the report for contributing to the broad debate. He said that he was not averse to a peak body, but that he will likely make an announcement later this year

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIUdz4nH_44&list=PLsRaH8jqKoC4pmyJ1kTkIFlH0DXeDBpI0

The next day the opposition fisheries spokesperson, Gerry Brownlee, questioned the Minister in the House. But, Brownlee avoided questions about the report’s substance. Instead, he asked the Minister whether fishers would be required to report their catch, hold a fishing license or register their boats. The Minister replied ‘no’ to each one

https://www.parliament.nz/en/watch-parliament/ondemand?itemId=197371

Brownlee then issued a media release claiming the Minister was ‘floundering’ and the report ‘dead in the water’ because, it was alleged, the Minister rejected its recommendations https://www.national.org.nz/nash_confirms_fishing_report_dead_in_the_water

But, the report never recommended required catch reporting. It does list voluntary contributions (hardly a license) and a further option of them being compulsory.

Boat registration is another option, but the preferred option is to use some of the petrol excise duty that boat-based fisher already pay each year and see little benefit from.

Good to see the Minister Nash kept his cool while questioned. We look forward to his announcement https://nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-media/opinion/nationals-pretty-kettle-of-fish/

Dr Randall Bess

Research Fellow, The New Zealand Initiative

Mr Ingram, and NZRFC Executive Officer, Margaret Wind, will be in Wellington for the presentation of the Report which will be introduced by new Minister of Fisheries, The Hon Stuart Nash.

“The Minister clearly has a strong interest in the New Zealand Initiative findings and the NZ Recreational Fishing Council regards the impending report as being a catalyst for improving fisheries management in New Zealand and further consolidating recreational fishing rights and opportunities” said Mr. Ingram today.

There are some real lessons to be learnt from how Recfishwest has developed over the last few years and the positive results they are achieving for recreational fishers in Western Australia. There is no doubt in our mind that Western Australian recreational fishers have the upper hand when compared with other stakeholders.

 The NZRFC looks forward to recreational fishers playing a more active role in fisheries management decision making in New Zealand, with the support of an adequately funded peak representative body.

The NZ Recreational Fishing Council is a confederation of amateur fishers, freshwater angling, fishing and dive clubs actively promoting responsible and sustainable management practices.  The Council remains a foundation member of the National Rock Lobster Management Group, established in 1993 to be the primary source of lobster fisheries management advice to Ministers. The Council has very strong regional linkages through both the North and South Islands and has continued to represent recreational fishers on these forum groups for a number of years.

Despite the reasonably  low public profile of the Council in recent years, demand for increased advocacy and representation of fishers has lead to the development of a new 10 year strategic plan, one that sees positive engagement with all fishing sectors to encourage ongoing sustainablilty.

3 December 2017

A comprehensive copy of the plan will be made available to members in the new year once the Board have signed off on it.

 NZRFC Board

Ted Howard, Immediate Past President of the NZRFC has had an immense workload over the past 12 months with the advent of the Kaikoura earthquake.  We would like to personally thank Ted for his continued commitment to the council.

Keith Ingram has taken on the role of acting President in the interim period – a function he is very experienced in, to take us forward.

The newly elected Board are:

• Keith Ingram – President
• Bill Cronin – Vice President
• Alain Jorion
• George Zander
• Bruce Reid
• Ross Gildon
• Mark Roden
• Sheryl Hart
• Ted Howard
• Geoff Rowling
• Margaret Wind – Executive Officer

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.

Fish4All smartphone App

There is now and Ap called fish4all available for both android and iphone.   Just go to the ap store appropriate to your phone, and search for fish4all to give it a try.

This ap allows you to record your catch, and if enough people use it, will give advocates working on your behalf useful information to take into fisheries management discussions.

We align with LegaSea in wanting more fish in the water, and there are many factors involved in making that happen.

Knowing what we take will help us build more effective management.   Sometimes recreational fishing is a significant influence, sometimes not.  Sometimes commercial fishing is a significant influence, and most often there are many factors at play, including effects of land based activities through run off and rubbish, competition with other uses (like marine farming) can be significant.

So having good information on recreational fishing effort is not a magic bullet in fisheries management, and it can add significantly to improving outcomes for recreational fishers in many fisheries.   So please give the ap a try.

Ted Howard – President RFC

Ted comes from Kaikoura, is in his 10th year as president of the Kaikoura Boating Club, and has a long history of involvement in both recreational and commercial fishing, conservation, marine science, local and national politics.

Ted comes to the role with a commitment to having a greater abundance in the inshore than is present for many species, to developing local management, and to management that involves whole ecosystem considerations. His experience in the Te Korowai process over the last 9 years has given him some idea of what is involved.

The situation as Ted sees it.

Creating abundance will involve changes in the way all people interact with the ocean:

• changes in behaviour by most recreational fishers, coming from new levels of understanding of the realities, and including all different groups within the sector talking and working together;
• changes in behaviour by most commercial fishers, mainly from changes to fishing practices that kill fewer fish and do less damage to the ocean floor, and in part from automated recording of more detailed information;
• changes in the way conservation groups behave towards fishers, both recreational and commercial, acknowledging the realities they face;
• changes in the way the bureaucracies interact with all sectors, including the wider public, in the speed with which they react to information, and in the scale and scope of management measures (much finer scale close to shore);
• changes in the political system to encourage and resource local management, to resource better science, and to honestly and openly work through the difficult problems.

Crayfish management in the Kaikoura region seems to be a model for fisheries management. Commercial fishers have resisted government attempts to drive abundance down to deliver short term increases in export income, and both recreational and commercial fishers enjoy reasonable abundance as a result.

Crayfish management in the Gisborne city area seems to be an example of everything that isn’t working. The situation there is extremely complex, with many difficult issues that many different sectors are unwilling to face head on. There deep issues of sovereignty, unresolved in 180 years that need to be addressed that will take time and effort to settle fairly. There are issues around displaced effort from marine reserve creation contributing to localised collapse, that no one in DOC or the conservation movement more widely want to acknowledge or address, and embedded in that are issues around commercial compensation that treasury and cabinet want to avoid acknowledging or addressing. All sectors are losers at present. It is about as ugly as it gets politically, and it needs addressing. It needed addressing 20 years ago. There are no simple answers, and there are ways back to abundance.

There is a strong need for integrity at all levels of debate.
The politicians and bureaucrats need to acknowledge that many of the fisheries laws are and always have been a fiction. That is a serious issue for many fishers, as for many it is, and always has been, impossible to work within the letter of the law, as the letter of the law has little relationship to the physical reality fishers face. Acknowledging that reality will be a good start towards creating systems that actually start to deliver what people expect of them.
Fishermen need to acknowledge that some practices really do need to change.
Conservation groups need to acknowledge that most fishermen really do want an abundant marine environment.
All of that is difficult when many people are firmly stuck in an us and them view of the world, and cannot clearly see that we are all in this together.

So it is not a simple journey we have ahead, and it does seem to be a journey worth making. There do in fact seem to be significant gains that can be delivered for all sectors, and it will take some real work to deliver them.

Acknowledging the current realities that exist seems to be step one (however ugly and unpleasant they may be).

Building trust and understanding is step two, and that is likely to involve a lot of time and effort and more than a little misunderstanding along the way. Such seems to be the nature of the process.

Getting from A to B is rarely a straight line when one is on the ocean, not many days are that calm; mostly there is a bit of wind or tide, a few rocks, other boats, etc, and a few changes of course are required. We should all be used to that.