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Minister slashes fishing quotas
Hoki quota has been slashed and the South Island's West Coast orange
roughy fishery effectively closed, in a move that will affect the
Nelson fishing industry and which the Fisheries Minister acknowledges
may cause job losses.
Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton on Tuesday announced catch limits for
the coming fishing season.
The hoki total allowable catch has been reduced by 10 percent, with the
total commercial catch dropping from 100,000 to 90,000 tonnes, while Mr
Anderton has asked the fishing industry to reduce its hoki take from
the depleted western stock by nearly 50 percent, to 25,000 tonnes, to
help rebuild the fishery. To cushion the economic impact from that, the
harvest from the eastern stock will increase by 5000 tonnes within the
total catch limits.
There are also large cuts to orange roughy fisheries, which include a
1050 tonne cut in the south and east Chatham Rise fishery, a 38 percent
cut to the upper North Island fishery, and effectively the closure of
the South Island's West Coast fishery, where the total allowable catch
has been set at just one tonne - a move that Mr Anderton expects will
upset commercial fishermen.
The quota cuts are likely to have large ramifications for the fishing
industry, particularly in Nelson, where the 85 crew on the Nelson-based
trawler Paerangi are waiting to learn the fate of their jobs.
The 71m charter freezer trawler, which was jointly owned by Sealord and
Norwegian company Volstad, has been sold and will leave New Zealand at
the end of October.
Sealord has been waiting for Tuesday's announcement on hoki and orange
roughy quota before deciding whether to replace the Paerangi with
another vessel. The company expects to make a decision within a few
days.
The announcements by Mr Anderton on Tuesday set new limits for almost
every corner of New Zealand fisheries, including the deep-water,
inshore and freshwater fisheries, which will affect commercial and
recreational fishers alike. The limits will apply from October 1.
The price a kilo that fishers are charged for catching more fish than
they are entitled to (called "values") has also been reset to ensure
catches remain within limits.
Mr Anderton acknowledged some of his decisions would have social and
economic implications, particularly where catch limits had been
reduced.
"And, hoki particularly, has been difficult for me, as I know hoki cuts
may mean job losses in some South Island regions.
"However, I am committed, as we all must be, to the ongoing
sustainability of all New Zealand's fisheries."
He said he knew his decision to effectively close the West Coast orange
roughy fishery would not be welcomed by the industry, but the best
information showed the stock was well below the sustainable target.
"I have taken a careful and considered approach to setting catch limits
in all these fisheries," Mr Anderton said. "Where fisheries information
suggests I need to act, I have. This means increased catch limits in
some fisheries and decreased catch limits in others."
Nelson's Pursuit Fishing owner Mark Roach said he was frustrated hoki
was being cut because life was hard enough in the fishing industry
already, with pressures such as high fuel costs. "Quota cuts only make
it worse."
He said the cuts would mean a reduction in the company's turnover.
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