Commercial Industry fights back

The Kahawai case currently underway in the Auckland High Court is about kahawai being a fish species that is undervalued by government, says industry commentators.

“Our emphasis is not trying to stop Kiwis from going fishing if they want to,” says Eric Barratt, chief executive of Sanford Ltd.   “It’s about ensuring that we can continue to provide ready access to seafood for everyone – not just those people who choose to go and catch it themselves.”

The industry has hit back hard in a counterclaim to the recreational "Kahawai Legal Challenge" with suggestions that recreational fishers be licenced and charter operators own quota.

The Ministry of Fisheries estimates that only 20% of the population goes fishing recreationally and for many of those people that means dropping a line only once  or twice a year, Mr Barratt said.  “The government is ignoring the far greater majority of New Zealanders – recreational fishers included – who buy their seafood.  We want to be able to continue to provide a ready supply of seafood like kahawai to the community so that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy it and the significant health benefits it provides.

“Sanford Limited has made a sizable investment in its Auckland Fish Market complex because it is fully committed to providing the community ready access to quality seafood. Kahawai is a modestly priced, wholesome and popular fish in this market, particularly in smoked form. It hardly seems reasonable that the wider community’s access to buying popular fish like kahawai is being progressively curtailed just to provide for the fishing pleasure of a select group who are fortunate enough to be able to go fishing for themselves.   

“Everyone who chooses to go fishing should be able to enjoy a quality catch, which is why we are calling for mechanisms to be put in place to measure and monitor recreational take. The seafood industry’s Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACCs) in the kahawai fishery has steadily declined over the years while the recreational bag limit remains the same, at 20 fish per person per day, and yet there is no system in place to measure how much is being taken.”

Under current arrangements, the commercial sector contributes approximately $35 million per year to ensure the fishery is sustainably utilised. The research of fish stocks is entirely funded by the commercial industry with commercial fishing highly regulated, assessed and recorded. There is currently no process to determine how much of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) recreational fishing takes from the sea.

“The commercial sector provides a range of tangible values to society such as providing a steady supply of fish to the community which in turn enhances the overall health benefits to society* that accrue from the regular consumption of seafood,” said Mr Barratt.

“As this country’s fifth largest export earner the seafood industry is a significant contributor to New Zealand’s economy, particularly in regional areas, and employs around 22,000 New Zealanders – and we want to be able to continue to do this. Through effective management of New Zealand’s fisheries and the property rights entrenched in our world-leading Quota Management System (QMS) upheld - we can just get on with it,” said Mr Barratt.

* Background Information:

The Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) published in the October 2006 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association [157] what it says is the single most comprehensive analysis to date of fish consumption and health.  Notably, the HSPH investigators claim to demonstrate that intake of fish or fish oil reduces total mortality - death from any cause - by 17%.  The results also show that the benefits of eating a modest amount of fish per week – about 85 grams of farmed salmon or 170 grams of mackerel - reduced the risk of death from coronary heart disease (CHD) by 36%.  Kahawai is a fish that is very similar to mackerel and contains considerable amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. 

The HSPH study is but one of a number that evidence the obvious health benefits to society associated with the consumption of fish, and these benefits can be valued.  To simply fail to consider the relevance of the value to the health of the community that arises from a ready supply of seafood, which is attributable in some measure to the economic activity of the seafood Industry, is to artificially constrain the definition of value to a meaning which minimises the significance of the commercial seafood sector.

For further information please see:

Harvard School of Public Health Study  - http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/press/releases/press10172006.html

National Heart Foundation’s ‘A guide to recovery after a heart attack’ -

http://www.nhf.org.nz/files/Cardiac_Care/New%20HaveAHeart%20web.pdf