COD WAS WILLING

YAY! Sense over silliness. . Cod is great. Cod is love, and Cod can be caught in Marlborough Sounds again. Well done Phil Heatley. Trust in the community. They will do whats best.

A victory for good sense and community responsibility

EXCELLENT NEWS

Heatley is back.  Good - the seafood industry will be rapt.  However message to Phil.  Love yer work but ya need to harden up - even Him upstairs aint keen on wimps.

A BETTER MAN

We watched today as a man who we had a huge amount of respect for, faltered and fell on his sword at what he saw was public condemnation for a minor infringement. Phil Heatley is a good man, a family man, a great father, a good husband and Minister the fishing industry had grown to respect.

We have met him a couple of times and there were those in the fishing industry who sought our advice of what sort of Minister he would be.

Straight and true, we said. Give him a logical argument and he will give you a logical decision.

So today, we lost that good Minister over a small mistake.

We got a call from a mate up north who said they were devastated - not for what he had done but the fact that he had resigned. He commands a lot of respect in his home patch.

We think it was a mark of the man that he made the decision to put his family ahead of his public office and the public glare that goes with it.We have a feeling that his resignation today was done purely to protect those matter most to him.

For that he will always have our respect.


We hope he does come back to the fold and sits in a Ministerial seat again. The seafood industry could do with his pragmatism and the country would be well served by a man of humility.

He is a better man.

COD BE WILLING

We think this is an inspired move by the Minister of Fisheries. Phil Heatley. Previous Minister Jim Anderton was captured by his officials and put in a blanket ban on blue cod, a moved that stunned the seafood sector.
Heatley has been willing to listen to the well reasoned arguments of both the recreational fishermen and others who have convinced him the ban was a crock. However Heatley is a smart bugger . He is obviously ensuring that the recreationalists are a little bit more engaged in the management of the blue cod fishery.

A group of local stakeholders has been working with the Ministry of Fisheries on a management plan that will rebuild the fishery while allowing for a managed recreational harvest.

“Advice from the group tells me good progress has been made towards a possible partial or full reopening of the fishery in the 2010/11 summer season,” Mr Heatley said.

New scientific research is under way that will inform the decision on when and how to reopen the fishery.

As announced in March, the Blue Cod Management Group is working toward delivering a plan that:

• will see the fishery opening sooner than the four years, either wholly or partially;
• is easy for fishers to understand, and practical for them to use;
• is straight forward for Ministry of Fisheries officers to police;
• requires some form of recreational catch reporting, so success can be monitored.

Its a good example of all interests working together for a common goal. And its the last point that is a quantum leap forward by recreational interests - catch reporting. Good data means good management.

Well done him. The recreational sector is well over due to take more responsibility for fisheries management . For too long it has been all take no responsibility.

FISHERIES RED TAPE IN FOR THE CHOP

This morning we listened to RNZ and heard a yarn on the Price Waterhouse Coopers 2030 report which takes a long term view of New Zealand fisheries in an interview with Phil Heatley.

Heatley is shaping up to be a good Minister of Fisheries and he has a commercial focus. This report underpins that.

There are two main points for us - that the industry is severely over regulated. There are 8000 regulations governing fisheries. Well placed sources tell us we will see some action soon on trimming some of the myriad of superfluous rules and regs.
The second issue, which Heatley highlighted this morning, is that while the industry is considered to be a world leader because there is a high level of reporting from the commercial sector - that is not replicated in the customary or the recreational sectors. Heatley wants to tackle that too.
Yee bloody ha, we say , about time.
With rights come responsibilities and customary and recreational fishers need to help this country build up its knowledge bank on fish stocks.
We also understand that Rodney's red tape squad will be tacking fisheries - that's a damn good thing. If you want to see red tape follow the paper trail for rock lobster from the pot to the plate. We will be keeping a close watch on progress.

Attached is the PWC report
MFishFisheries2030ReportRevised Final 19Feb

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Business & Legal 20.30 price waterhouse coo

SEAFOOD INDUSTRY SHOULD TAKE A BOW

This announcement from new Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley clearly shows that inshore fisheries management works.

Minister announces new limits for lobsters

Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley has announced changes to the catch limits of four rock lobster stocks today.Catch limits in Otago and Southland fisheries will increase, while catch limits in Gisborne and Wellington/Hawke Bay fisheries will decrease. The limit changes will take effect on 1 April 2009.

Mr Heatley said his decisions were based on the best information available and careful consideration of submissions received from customary, recreational and commercial fishers, and the wider public.

“My overriding goal when adjusting catch limits is to make sure there will be fish for future generations of fishers.”

“When the science says extra fish can be safely taken then I will increase catch limits. However, if the science suggests catch limits need to be cut to protect the sustainability of the fishery, I will not hesitate to cut catches,” Mr Heatley said.

Southern Rock Lobster Fisheries

From 1 April, total catch in Otago (CRA 7) will increase 45% from 144 tonnes to 209 tonnes, and in Southland (CRA 8) total catch will increase 5% from 1053 tonnes to 1110 tonnes.

Both fisheries are closely managed with ongoing monitoring of stock health and abundance. This enables rapid responses to changes in lobster numbers to maintain strong and healthy stocks.

Mr Heatley said those operating in the Southern Rock Lobster fisheries deserved to be congratulated.

“The hard decisions in the late 1990s are bearing fruit and allowing me to increase catch limits now that the stocks are healthy, well above sustainable limits, and being carefully managed,” Mr Heatley said.

Most of the increase will go to commercial fishers with commercial quotas up 65 tonnes in CRA 7 and 53 tonnes in CRA 8. Mr Heatley said the increases would be welcomed by local communities in these difficult economic times.

Non-commercial catch limits will stay the same in CRA 7 but in CRA 8, the recreational allowance will increase.

“The information we have suggests the non-commercial catches in CRA 7 are still less than the existing allowances. In CRA 8, stakeholders have agreed catches may be exceeding allowances and a 4 tonne increase to the recreational allowance is appropriate,” Mr Heatley said.

Northern Rock Lobster Fisheries

Catch limits in Gisborne (CRA 3) and in Wellington/Hawke Bay (CRA 4) will decrease.

“There are problems in these fisheries and our focus needs to be on increasing the numbers of lobsters in the water,” Mr Heatley said.

Total catch in Gisborne (CRA 3) will decrease 9% from 319 tonnes to 293 tonnes, with the commercial operators wearing all of the pain this time around.

Mr Heatley has asked the sector groups in CRA 3 to work constructively together in 2009 to develop a management tool to guide the setting of catch limits in the future.

Its simple. When there is lots of fish , fishermen are allowed to catch more when there isn't they get a quota cut.

FYI -Top boats in Cra8 last year caught about 40 tonne at about $50 a kilo.. You can do the math.

SEAFOOD INDUSTRY RISES TO THE CHALLENGE.

First we had new Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley raising the allowable by catch levels of Sealions for the NZ squid industry - We thought that was great - then came the news that pup numbers had dropped off this year.

So because they were treated like adults the seafood industry reacted like adults and this is the result

27 January 2009 - Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley and Ministry of Fisheries Chief Executive Wayne McNee have today congratulated the squid fishing industry on their responsible approach to today's announcement by the Department of Conservation of a 30% fall in the number of sea lion pups.
The Deepwater Group (representing the majority of squid quota owners) has announced the squid fishing industry will respond to this decline by voluntarily reducing fishing activity in the Auckland Islands squid fishery as an interim measure for the 2009 fishing season. This measure effectively reduces the sea lion fishing related mortality limit from 113 to 95 sea lions.
"When I became aware of this decline in sea lion pup numbers I requested that the squid fishing industry consider voluntarily reducing the sea lion fishing related mortality limit," said Mr Heatley.
"I am very pleased the squid fishing industry has responded by taking a responsible and cautious approach.
"Their willingness to work with me and the Ministry of Fisheries to minimise the risk to sea lions is most gratifying," he said.
Mr McNee said with the Auckland Islands squid fishery due to open this weekend a voluntary reduction was the most effective way to respond quickly and responsibly to the new information.
The Department of Conservation says the latest research on sea lion populations in the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands provisionally shows a 30% fall in the number of sea lion pups and a reduction in the number of female sea lions coming ashore.
It is not known what is causing this decline but DOC scientists on the Auckland Islands are carrying out further research.
"While we are confident this decline is not being caused by fishing, we need to take these figures into account and make sure that the impact of fishing is particularly well managed" said Mr McNee.

Good stuff, we say - a win for everyone.

Word has it that the industry is pretty happy with their Minister so far - and a few of the industry wags have suggested that his press secretary is a "good un." It is expected that his extensive knowledge of wine will be of benefit at future seafood dinners.

And still on matters seafood.

The industry is doing a bit of rationalisation - with about 26 industry groups it was all getting a bit hard for SEAFIC to manage. The inshore boys met today to discuss ways of doing things better. Well done.

GREENY BULLSHIT ABOUT HOOKER SEALIONS

The standard is going crook about new Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley increasing the allowable sealion bycatch for the squid industry.

We know this issue very, very well. There is nothing "threatened" about the Hooker Sealion population - there are thousands of the buggers in and around the oceans way south of New Zealand where the squid fishery is largely based. Note the use of the word "threatened" rather than "endangered" - which does mean that something is demonstrably in trouble.

BB gets up close and personal ( well as close as you can get considering their propensity to suffer from cetacean halitosis) with these wonderful creatures on a regular basis. We have even hand feed them and swum with them. Never stand in their poop. It is as vile as animal poop gets. Its normally white with little fishy bits in it and very slippery and it sticks to rubber like - well poop sticks to rubber. And they will chase you on land but in the water they dont seem to give a shit about you.

So the Standard and Forest and Bird are getting all hysterical because National has imposed a much more realistic level of by catch from 81 to 113.

Now, in 1998 lots of pups died from some mysterious bug. Curiously and importantly, overcrowding was not discounted as a possible factor in the spread of the unknown malady.

Up until that point there were an estimated 15,000. In 2003 it was estimated that the population was about 13000. Both of these figures are wildly speculative and considered to be a underestimate of actual number which fisheries experts put at about 20,000 . There is a population of about 30 - 35 that resides in Small craft in Port Pegasus. DOC estimated it at the time to be 5 -1o animals which has been one reason we have never trusted their estimates. As you will witness from the pics - an young one on the left and an old beachmaster on the right - they spend quite a bit of time deep in the bush. These two were photographed by BB about 1km inland up a fresh water creek with towering rimu all around.
So DOC takes pics of the ones on the beach - not the ones in the bush - which at any time seem to be about half the population.

They are truly magnificent animals and we were deeply upset when a fisherman shot some of them a few years back and left them to rot on our island beach. However we are also pragmatic and the Squid industry is an important one for New Zealand the forth largest in earnings at 86 million a year.

So at less than one percent this bycatch is still very, very low.

DOC's lickspittles over at Forest and Bird should look at other burning issues like cats on Stewart Island which do huge amounts of damage to small bird life instead of twittering and tweetering about the minimal collateral damage to yet another species of, to coin a phrase from Ta Tipene O'Regan, "charismatic mega fauna." But then thats the rub, F and B wouldn't get much traction for calling for a cull of a heap of bad pussies. So, instead, they just pick on the causes that will appeal to an animal cuddling public to ensure the donations keep flowing. How venal.