LegaSea Information Alert – Snapper 1

Management of our Snapper 1 fishery has hit the headlines, much debate has occurred and the Ministry for Primary Industries is about to release their proposals for the future management of this iconic fishery.

We’re keen to share some important information with you about:

• The core issues
• Our preliminary view
• Our Snapper 1 policy
• Background info on recreational bag limits
• LegaSea’s role
• What you can do to help.

In the first week of July the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is expected to release a discussion paper outlining several options for the future management of our largest inshore fishery, Snapper 1. More New Zealanders have access to this fishery than any other stock in the country, so it’s important it is regularly reviewed and well managed.

The core issues

While NZ’s quota management system is touted, as 'world-leading', fundamental weaknesses exist. These failures are highlighted by the current state of the Snapper 1 fishery, which is well below the level required to provide for our social, economic and cultural wellbeing. A more abundant fishery and vastly improved management practices by the Ministry for Primary Industries are at the heart of what we seek.

NZ’s inshore fisheries have been seriously overfished. Many fishing clubs, environmental groups and passionate advocates are trying to find ways to work together to improve the health of fish stocks through better management practices.

Our preliminary view

1. Any decisions made this year will be in isolation of a wider plan. We need an agreed strategy and target to underpin future management of our snapper fishery. The Ministry says they will be developing a management strategy between now and next year. Important decisions, especially around catch levels, ought to be made after this work is done. We’ve asked the Ministry to delay management decisions until next year. But after 15 years of inaction Ministry says they can’t wait. Beware of a kneejerk reaction!

2. Further bag limit constraints by recreational fishers will do almost nothing to help conserve fish, unless commercial fishers significantly reduce their mortality of juvenile fish. This reduction can be achieved by moving commercial effort well offshore, or by immediately adopting smarter and more selective fishing methods to replace the archaic and damaging, centuries-old methods currently being used. We will not support any regulatory change to current recreational limits unless we have a solid commitment to reduce this mortality.

3. Areas of high mortality need to be identified and closed to bulk harvesting methods. The commercial sector must address the unseen waste from fishing methods, such as trawling and danish seining, that kill hundreds of thousands of juvenile fish. The Ministry has failed to collect any useful data on juvenile mortality.

4. The Bay of Plenty region requires special focus because overfishing is occurring. The current stock level is estimated to be around 6% of its original biomass. This appalling reality is being masked by the convenient amalgamation of this estimate with the Hauraki Gulf, bringing it up to 19% of its original stock size. Still well below the default 40% target.

Our objective

Our objective is to rebuild the Snapper 1 stock to the target level of 40% of biomass. (Biomass is the natural level of fish stock if there was no fishing.)

This level will ensure the stock is capable of meeting the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations – as required by law, and critical given the forecast population increase in the next 20-30 years (a 40% increase in Auckland alone!).

Our Snapper 1 policy

• No increase to the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC, quota limit) until:
– The stock has been restored to the 40% target level
– The stock is capable of meeting the reasonably foreseeable needs of future
generations
– Those needs have been adequately identified and allowed for.

• To encourage better management of our impact on the marine ecosystem.

Our strategy

1. Promote achievable and affordable actions to restore snapper abundance. This includes setting both a target stock biomass of 40% of the unfished stock size and a rebuild time frame.

2. Stop killing juveniles, fishing dumping and other wasteful practices. This requires both commercial and recreational fishers modifying their methods and behaviour so that more fish are allowed to grow to optimum size.

3. Initiate research and consultation on what additional voluntary measures could be embraced by recreational fishers to reduce fishing related mortality, to better look after the marine environment and to accelerate the rebuild.

So far the debate has focused on snapper bag limit reductions, size limit increases and commercial quota. It is critical that you understand this issue is much broader than this and includes the serious need to address the gross waste of juvenile fish.

Other relevant questions are:

• What is the individual catch profile of recreational fishers last year?
• Can the catch data be verified?
• Is the Ministry nai¨ve enough to consider that reducing bag limits is the answer?
• Is it time for the Minister to make a new allowance for recreational interests?
 

Recreational catch limits

Commercial fishers are allocated limited quota. By law recreational fishers do not have a defined quota, we have an 'allowance'. This means we are not constrained to an arbitrary number. The Minister must ‘allow for’ our growing needs, and our policy states that these must be adequately identified.

When the Ministry states that recreational anglers have ‘overfished’ the allowance by 40% this is a disingenuous description. Recreational catch may have increased beyond the 2,300-tonne allowance, but this allowance was set in 1997 and is quite frankly outdated. Without a review that takes into consideration basic changes such as population growth, (that in Auckland alone is 28%) this allowance is fundamentally flawed.

Increasing abundance, and better technology makes it entirely realistic that recreational fishers can now catch a greater quantity of snapper than in 1997. Clearly it is time for the Minister to make a contemporary allowance.

In 1994 recreational anglers in Snapper 1 agreed to increase the minimum legal size from 25cm to 27cm. The bag limit was reduced to nine in 1997. These measures were an agreed contribution to rebuild the depleted snapper fishery. Commercial fishing, including trawling and Danish seining, has continued to harvest tiny 25cm fish, at 3000 to a tonne.

The conservation benefits gained by both the increased minimum fish size and reduced daily bag limit have been captured by the trawl fleet and lost to the fishery. We cannot contemplate another increase in minimum size and a drop in recreational bag limits while current commercial practices continue.
 
LegaSea’s role

LegaSea is the public outreach brand of the NZ Sport Fishing Council. LegaSea raises awareness and campaigns around issues that affect recreational fishers while the NZSFC gets stuck into the grunt work of fisheries advocacy. LegaSea provides an opportunity for the public to stand up for themselves by voluntarily funding the work required to create positive outcomes to the way fisheries are managed in New Zealand.
 
What you can do to help

As a key opinion leader LegaSea is aspiring to help you understand the issues and provide you with the information you require so you can pass that info onto your audience.

If you have any questions, need any information, can provide some feedback, good or bad, or give us some suggestions please get in touch.

Please go to the LegaSea website www.legasea.co.nz. This website will act as an information hub for people to get news and updates.

Feel free to contact us at:

P: 0800 LEGASEA (534 273) E: [email protected] W: http://www.legasea.co.nz