Seafood council press release praising themselves

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    Posted: 25 Jan 2017 at 9:22am
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Titanium
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11787752

Here is the industry praising their own efforts in creating more sustainable fisheries. I applaud them for that, but with one major note -

In the comm only deepwater fisheries they may voluntarily (sort of at least) reduce catch levels and work on improving their catch techniques, set areas aside or make special rules for them etc to create sustainable fisheries. It appears that at least in some cases this has been successful and that is great.

Where are those initiatives in the shared inshore fisheries? It is obvious to most that our inshore fisheries are under massive pressure and in many cases declining badly. Even the once improving HGulf snapper fishery appears to have gone back into decline over the past few seasons if you judge it by the recreational catch success rate. That rec success rate is really important as it will precede any eventual drop in comm catch as they will just fish longer to catch their quota. It is the first available, and undebatable, sign of the fishery going backwards. This HGulf season so far has been dire for all but the better anglers and the snapper just aren't where they normally would be in any abundance. Even the highly skilled charter fleet is starting to struggle at the moment.

So whilst the industry are patting themselves on the back for getting sustainability medals for key deep water (comm only) species, where are their forward looking initiatives to achieve the same with our very socially important inshore species? All I see is them arguing that we need to keep cutting the recreational catch or making senseless and self serving statements about how snapper abundance is preventing them from eliminating the last few remaining gurnard, trevally, and john dory etc because snapper become a nuisance by-catch. Reality is that they have already fished down those other stocks to the point where even the rare snapper are a problem as they try to sweep up the remaining few minority species.

We hear talk about new nets that are going to save the world, but we have been hearing that for years without seeing anything happen. We hear how they might agree to move the trawl line further offshore, but only if the rec community make even more sweeping concessions on top of the significant cuts already conceded. They won't however agree to do anything to reduce their take out of the inshore biomass. That would have to be demanded by government and fought through the courts.  

Funny how they can make these hopefully/seemingly positive initiatives in the fisheries that they more or less own 100%, but doing anything about the perilous state of our shared inshore fisheries is way too hard. I guess their fear is that anything positive they do might benefit the rec sector and they might not personally reap 100% of the return. At the same time however, they are more than happy to take a cut of any extra abundance that might result from ongoing cuts to recreational take.

And they wonder why the rec anglers of this country view them so poorly.


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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote smudge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan 2017 at 9:59am
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This is why it is so hard for recreational anglers to have a voice. Here we have an industry leader, quoting international science (yeah I know - I'm sure those scientists work for the industry), putting forward a very credible sounding claim that our fishery management system is one of the best in the world.

A couple of things that this guy says are very true.

1/ You don't have to look far to see that the QMS is indeed a whole lot better than what most countries do
2/ The best fish guide put out by Forest & Bird is so far off the mark it's not funny. I mean pilchards, rock lobster, skipjack & albacore tuna are in the best category, yet spiny dog fish are in the worst. Ever noticed how hard it is to catch a skippy these days? Where are the big pilchard schools?  Do your bit and buy Kaveman's lures Big smile.

So this industry guy makes some claims that sound very good and when you read what he says, it is easily backed up. There you go - it's the truth! Of course there is a lot of stuff that's not said but of course that's business and politics eh.

And here we are. As recreational fishermen we are seen as a bunch of individuals getting all hot and bothered over details and when we do get a group together to  give recreational anglers some political clout, the recs do their best to tear that group apart by stamping our feet and throwing insults at each other on social media.

Do you think this guys colleagues are arguing with him about the finer points of what he's written for the media? Nope they will be congratulating him for a job well done. And he has done a fine job. A lot of us can see through it but 90% will believe it.

We don't have that credibility, we're disjointed and as a unit we're not politically savvy.  That's why I put my trust in LegaSea.
Best gurnard fisherman in my street
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote feeder Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jan 2017 at 8:13pm
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Titanium
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Hear Hear Smudge, well said.
 
Cheers
The only bar to frequent is the Kawhia Bar
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote cirrus Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Jan 2017 at 10:13pm
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Titanium
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Just read that article . Find it difficult not to feel a little concerned about that article. Seems more like an attack on forest and bird. Or on attempts to reduce seabird by catch. Put another way -a problem with seabird by catch remains.
Credibility comes from being credible ,not by puling down someone else like F&B
The same old word sustainable used over again. What really is sustainable.? Does that mean skimming of the small rebuild of the Tasman Bay Snapper stock after years of low stocks.
Awards from the Marine stewardship council. Orange roughy now has the sustainable tick. Orange Roughy that was fished almost out of existence here, and N.Z boats plundered the Seamounts off Mauritius to keep it going.

How valid is the MSC.?

"Fish customers duped by Marine Stewardship council"--The Guardian.
Says many accredited fish have plunging stocks

"Marine stewardship council blue tick questionable"--Stuff News.

If  SFC want to earn points then how about refining presentation on our domestic markets.
1/ Fresh. The word has nothing to do with the quality of fish,but simply that it is not frozen .Could be a month old and still able to be labeled fresh. How many consumers are duped by that word.
2/ Best before date. Every single product ,especially perishable products such as meat ,dairy etc have a packed on date and best before date. Even all processed food has this ,including country of origin and added ingredients .
Fish neither has the date caught ,location ,processed date ,or best before date. Pretty poor for such a perishable product.
How do they get away with this
3/ Preservatives are often used on fresh fish overseas ,and almost certainly used here. Why are they not listed.

How does the seafood council who claim to have product of integrity not follow the above guidelines. All other food products do. One could easily get the impression something is being hidden ,or neglected.

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