Speech to the Big Game Fishing Council

Good afternoon and thank you for the invitation to address your conference.

It's always a pleasure to be here in the far north and I really enjoy speaking with people who are passionate about fishing.

Going fishing is an opportunity that many New Zealanders take up.

SPARC has recently published the results of the 2007/08 Active New Zealand survey and produced a sport and recreation profile for recreational fishing.

Salt water fishing came out as the country's seventh most popular sport and recreational activity with 17% of the population taking part.

That is significantly higher than rugby, a pastime most would probably cite as helping define us as a nation.

Interestingly, rugby shared 21^st position with freshwater fishing, which just serves to underscore the popularity of fishing generally.

When you add in other forms of what the statisticians consider to be ‘fishing' the numbers get even higher.

This includes things like diving for paua, scallops and crays and gathering pipis and cockles.

In fact the Ministry of Fisheries has undertaken survey work over a number of years which suggests about 30% of the population engage in some sort of fishing activity in any given year.

This is a huge bloc of people any way you look at it.

I would like to congratulate the council on your recent achievement of being recognised by SPARC as a National Sport Organisation, and on the successful launch of the "Hiwi the Kiwi" fishing education programme.

I'm sure these achievements will help you promote the sport of fishing, especially with young people.

My reading is that this shows the council is working to appeal to a wider section of the population than in previous years, and that your activities now carry through to all aspects of fishing, including promotion of the sport and management of the fishery.

And if I'm right, that's a great thing.

Managing big game fisheries

From what I hear big game fishing this year has been a bit of a mixed bag, a highlight of which was the Pacific bluefin season, which has just wound up.

Landing a Pacific bluefin tuna is the pinnacle of achievement for many game fishers.

The uniqueness of the fishing grounds - the South Island west coast, often alongside hoki trawlers - combined with the power and stamina of these huge fish means to catch one is, for most fishers, a once-in-a-lifetime achievement.

I have never got one - but then I've never tried.

Some very notable bluefin catches were made: a 307kg fish caught on 60kg line, and pending new ladies and junior world record claims for fish nearing the 300kg mark.

However, the yellowfin season was not good, with poor catch rates all round.

In fact the last few seasons have been poor.

This is something the government is well aware of.

There is in all likelihood a range of factors that are causing this, some we can do something about, some we can't.

As you know, big game species like tuna and marlin are highly migratory.

They range over vast areas of the pacific and most only visit our waters seasonally.

We are at the edge of their natural range and for some species they only arrive here when they are fully grown.

On the flip side, this is what gives us such good trophy fish.

Environmental factors, especially water temperature, have a big impact on how many fish make their way south, especially for species like yellowfin.

As we saw a couple of years ago, when there is a lot of warm water coming south, the tuna follow.

That isn't the whole story though.

The largest impact on how many tuna make it to New Zealand is what happens far to the north of us in the tropics.

Most of the fishing of yellowfin takes place around the equator.

Schools of mature yellowfin are targeted by purse seiners.

These boats also catch large numbers of juvenile yellowfin when fishing for skipjack, using fish aggregating devices, or FADs.

As yellowfin grow and head south they are targeted by long liners who also take large numbers of fish.

Scientists are telling us that commercial activity in Indonesia and the Philippines are having a massive impact on the Pacific yellowfin stock. 

These fisheries are poorly regulated and managed and so present another significant challenge. 

Yellowfin travel through the exclusive economic zones of a number of pacific island countries and areas of the high seas.

The fish are completely unaware of that; they have no concept of lines on maps that mark the EEZs.

This means that management has to be done by regional agreement within all the EEZs, and with the countries whose fleets catch them.

In the case of tuna and other highly migratory species, including marlin and swordfish, this is the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention, or WCPFC.

New Zealand is an active member of WCPFC; we send a delegation to every meeting and we have representatives on the scientific and compliance committees.

We work closely with like-minded countries and our pacific island neighbours to present a united front when we negotiate management measures with other countries in the region.

We do the same when negotiation with the distant water fishing nations whose fleets are given access to the waters of Pacific island countries or that fish on the high seas.

There is no getting around the fact that there are real challenges for managing these species.

At the moment too many yellowfin and big eye tuna are being caught.

These fish stocks are coming under intense pressure, especially in the tropics where they are targeted and taken as bycatch by both purse seiners and longliners.

We need to do something or these stocks will become overfished.

They are still some way from any sort of collapse and New Zealand is working hard to make sure the stocks don't get to that point.

WCPFC has agreed on a number of management measures to restrict fishing effort and reduce the number of fish being caught.

New Zealand supports these measures and is keen to see management strengthened even further over the long term.

Another issue that remains a threat in the Pacific that I find quite worrying is illegal pirate fishing.

I am very keen for New Zealand to do all it can to stamp it out.

That includes giving assistance to our neighbours on management measures, sharing intelligence on whom the pirates are and where they operate, and patrols by our armed forces to catch them in the act.

The simple fact is, if too many fish are caught in the tropics when they are still growing, far fewer will survive to adulthood and make their way south to our waters, which, as I've said, are at the edge of their natural range.

October sustainability decisions

Next week I will announce my decisions on changes to catch limits for the fishing year starting on the first of October.

These decisions cover a range of species in the inshore area and the deepwater.

What I have done when making these decisions is focus on two intertwined things.

The first, and it underscores every fisheries decision I make, is making sure the decision protects the species' sustainability.

I always ask: what will this do to ensure the health of fish stocks?

The second, and without it I can't reach a view on sustainability, is delivery of good information.

I always want to base my decisions on the best information available.

I'm confident I've done both things in making these decisions.

We are reacting to the science and the trends we are seeing out on the water and making future focused decisions.

The best information we have available is not perfect though.

In some areas it is patchy at best.

Charter boat reporting

Commercial fishers have to report all of their catch in a lot of detail and provide that information to government regularly.

The customary sector is making great strides in the reporting of customary fishing activity.

In fact in the last nine months we have gone from receiving about 40% of the reports we are supposed to get from iwi to receiving over 95%.

The obvious gap here is information on recreational fishing; and with perhaps 30% of the population heading out fishing every year this gap is quite big.

We can make educated guesses but I think we need to do better than that.

This year's budget was very tight.

Due to the economic conditions there was very little extra funding available for new initiatives.

However, I managed to secure $3.4 million over four years for more recreational fishing research.

This will start addressing the information shortfall and will be split between two projects.

The first will research recreational fishers' catch in some of our key inshore fisheries.

The second is to put in place a registration and reporting system for charter boats that carry recreational fishers.

At the moment we don't have much confirmed information on the size of the charter fleet or where the boats are based.

That being the case we are similarly bereft of information on their fishing activity - where they're fishing how much of our key shared fish stocks are being caught by charter vessels. 

Some recent research indicates that that the number of charter vessels has increased significantly over the past decade, and that the fleet's activities have changed.

Without improved information it is difficult to gauge whether the growth in vessel numbers and fishing is spread across different areas and fishstocks or is heavily focused on particularly vulnerable fishstocks or localised populations.

There will be three elements to the charter vessel reporting system.

The first is registration.

We need to know how many charter boats there are and where they are operating.

We can then keep an eye on trends and see any potential issues as they emerge.

Second is activity reporting.

Let me be clear, this is different from commercial catch reporting and will be much simpler.

It will require charter boat operators to report monthly on the general areas they are fishing and the species they are targeting.

This will let fishery managers know where the effort is being expended, what species are attracting the greatest fishing pressure, and it will give a better idea of what areas are important to the sector when considering proposals for things like marine reserves.

The final aspect is catch reporting of a small number of species that are particularly vulnerable to localised depletion and fishing pressure, or where we have international management obligations.

This information will help fishery managers to ensure that catch allocations are adequate and appropriate.

And it will give information on specific fish stocks that are of particular interest and value for recreational fishers.

This sort of scheme is already running very successfully in the Pacific bluefin fishery and is giving fantastic information for fishery managers to work with.

I understand that there will be some adjustment and some extra effort required.

We are working out a way of getting the information that is needed without making unreasonable demands of already busy skippers and crew.

In short, I want maximum gain for minimum pain.

I plan to have the systems in place to have charter vessels reporting their activity and catch next year.

Other projects

There are several other projects underway already to improve information on recreational catch and release, including preparing a medium term research plan; the gamefish tagging programme; feasibility studies on new research methods; and international workshops on recreational catch estimation.

So there is a lot of work being done, and I look forward to it coming to fruition and helping to fill in the gaps.

Other budget initiatives

Despite the understandably parsimonious mood of the Finance Minister I am pleased that I was able to secure some other fisheries funding as well.

The budget gave almost $2 million dollars over four years to get the aquaculture industry moving.

This is an area that has real potential for sustainable economic growth; to boost our export earnings; and to provide jobs for kiwis.

It has languished under an inefficient regulatory regime for too long and we are going to get things moving.

There will also be more full time and honorary fishery officers patrolling New Zealand's coastline.

A boost of over $4 million over the next four years will increase the honorary fishery officer network from 172 to 250 and full-time fishery officer numbers from 95 to 104.

The additional officers will mean the Ministry of Fisheries can increase its general compliance effort in targeting known risk locations and species.

I want to say that really value our Honorary Fishery Officers.

They are volunteers who give their time to play a vital role in protecting our fisheries.

I would like to acknowledge their efforts and thank them for the contribution they make to manage our fisheries.

Recreational regulations

I recently announced changes to some regulations that will be of great benefit to recreational fishers.

Recreational divers will be allowed to catch crayfish with cray lassoes or cray loops, provided they are not spring loaded.

This will simplify the regulations and let divers use a way of catching crayfish that is less damaging than other methods.

I have also approved a new minimum size for paua in the Taranaki region.

Paua in Taranaki are naturally small and usually don't grow to the minimum size of 125mm like in other parts of the country.

By reducing the size in this area it will mean that recreational fishers are able to catch paua and make the most of the fishery that, while small in size, is abundant in numbers.

I was very please to be able to make these practical, common sense changes in areas where the information we have suggests they can be made sustainably.

Paua accumulation

Another important change to the regulations is the new accumulation limit for paua.

Paua poaching is a big problem.

It is estimated that half of all paua caught is taken illegally and then sold on the black market here or smuggled out of the country for sale elsewhere.

From October 1 nobody will be able to accumulate more than two daily bag limits of 10 paua per person per day.

That is 20 paua per person in your possession at any time provided that the daily bag limit is not exceeded.

If you're a law abiding recreational paua gatherer then you have nothing to fear - you won't suddenly have fisheries officers knocking on your door asking to look in your freezer.

If a fisheries officer knocks on your door you can bet they've got good reason to do so.

The accumulation rule is about getting more wins against gangs of paua poachers, many of whom have used the defence of having legally accumulated huge amounts of paua to escape conviction.

It also allowed criminals to leave the country with suitcase loads of frozen paua.

Those days are over.

Fisheries 2030

On a somewhat different note I recently released Fisheries 2030 which is the plan by which the government aims to enable the fisheries sector to make a significantly greater but sustainable contribution to the New Zealand economy.

Fisheries 2030 sets out where we are going with fisheries management and provides a framework for how we are going to get there.

I got a lot of feedback on the draft plan, some of it from your group.

I listened, and believe the plan we released last week reflects that.

The long term goal for the sector is: New Zealanders maximising benefits from the use of fisheries within environmental limits. 

It is important to note that Fisheries 2030 is a 20-year strategy, and not all aspects of it can be implemented simultaneously. 

This is not just about economic benefits, with so many New Zealanders going fishing recreationally every year it is clear that this sort of fishing is of great value as well.

Many of these initiatives are underway already and the remainder will be commenced over the next five years.

MFish priorities

The Ministry of Fisheries is currently changing the way it works to better reflect the new Government's priorities.

Some of the things the Ministry of Fisheries have been doing, and the way they were working, required a huge amount of engagement from all our stakeholders.

I know this can be particularly demanding for the non-commercial sector.

I know that groups like the Big Game Fishing Council rely heavily on the work of a few highly committed individuals working as unpaid volunteers.

Many of you are in that category.

I want to lighten the load that you are currently carrying while making sure your voice is still heard.

There are some areas across government, including the Ministry of Fisheries, where the current levels of engagement need to be streamlined.

There is too much discussion and not enough action; too much process and not enough results.

This is already changing for the better under National.

In a number of ministries we're already having more meaningful consultation and taking swifter action.

You will still be asked for input and I will continue to value your input.

But, when you are asked for input and involvement you need to come prepared and make your input count.

I know you're a well organised group, so you'll still get your points across, and I'm sure you'll welcome having less of your precious time wrapped up in consultation with the Ministry.

Recreational only fishing areas

An important part of the government's fisheries policy is the establishment of recreation only fishing areas

Establishing these areas is something I am committed to.

We campaigned on it and you can take it as read that John Key expects me to deliver.

To date I have had informal discussions with commercial and customary interests but the time is quickly coming where we have to have a formal process involving recreationalists.

The areas will need to be carefully chosen and that is a process that I do not intend to rush.

We won't be having a race for space; we will work steadily but carefully and we won't be acting in haste.

It may be that we can achieve good results which enhance the recreational experience in some areas where there's no commercial finfish take or where closures are seasonal rather than a complete ban on all commercial fishing all year.

Establishing recreational only areas could impose some costs on commercial fishers, they may be barred from areas they have fished in the past and have to travel further a field.

My intention is to minimise costs imposed on any sector; as with recreational charter vessel reporting I am looking for maximum gain for minimum pain.

I have asked them to think about this issue and make some suggestions to help me in my thinking.

This offer has not been taken as seriously as I'd hoped, so I intend being more proactive very soon.

Conclusion

I hope this has brought you up to speed on many of the things going on in fisheries at the moment.

I am pleased with what has been achieved since November last year, but there is still more to do.

I am eager to get on with the job and keep on making progress.

The Big Game Fishing Council has come a long way and has an important role to play.

I would like to thank you again for hosting me here today and wish you all the best for the remainder of your conference.