Foreign-charter fishers squeeze kiwi battlers

Foreign-charter fishers squeeze kiwi battlers

The government is being urged to regulate so that only New Zealand-crewed fishing vessels can harvest hoki, the largest commercial fish species caught annually.

The boats of New Zealand owner-operators are increasingly found tied up at the wharf as foreign vessels harvest our fishing grounds, says an organisation that represents in-shore owner-operators.

It is calling on the government to make it mandatory for all foreign fishing permits to exclude the taking of hoki.

The Federation of Commercial Fishermen says the 10 per cent cut in the hoki Total Allowable Catch announced today will only make the situation worse.

The federation’s president, Doug Saunders-Loder, says the decision to set a TACC of 90,000 tonnes for the new season starting 1 October will cause more harm to the small, sole operators and their communities.

“The foreign-crewed boats of joint ventures, in which New Zealanders are only the nominal owners of quota, are putting the squeeze on the little guys in our fleet.

“Too many of our fishermen have their boats tied up at the wharf, and we have to do something to protect not only jobs but also the affected infrastructure, such as ports, fishing villages, and the small businesses that service the fleet.

“The prospect of smaller catches will make business even more uneconomic for some, meaning job losses for fishers and process workers. The New Zealand fleet is already underutilised, and the situation is about to deteriorate.

“These traditional family firms of owner-operators are the lifeblood of towns like Greymouth, Westport and Nelson.

“The bottom line is that foreigners continue to dominate our waters and main fisheries, and are pricing New Zealand fishers out of the market.

“Some countries have very tight restrictions on fishing by foreign interests, but here we have an ‘out of sight out of mind’ mentality which allows foreign vessels to enter our waters and harvest our fishery at the expense of New Zealanders’ jobs.

“We believe that if the quota for hoki is to be reduced, then the species should be the exclusive preserve of New Zealand fishermen.

“The fishing interests that we represent are aware of the environmental and economic risks if we don’t manage our fish resources well. Local fishers are the best custodians of the resource, but they are being increasingly displaced by foreign fishing vessels, despite having the capacity and skill to harvest the entire New Zealand catch.

“Enough is enough. It’s now time for New Zealand resources to be harvested by New Zealanders.

“At the end of the day this is about looking after the New Zealand way of life,” Doug Saunders-Loder said.

Nelson fisherman Tony Roach said New Zealand owner-operators were quitting the business, because they no longer had the quota to get the sort of financial boost the hoki season once gave them.

“It is unbelievable that Kiwi boats are having to tie up while foreign charter vessels are out there harvesting hoki…in fact it’s criminal,” he said.

Lyttelton owner-operator Allan Rooney laments the fact that no spare hoki quota is available for New Zealand owner-operators, because of the extent of foreign charter activity in our waters.

“There are New Zealand fishermen who are starving at the moment because of the situation we now have. What is happening with foreign charters might be legal, but morally it’s not right.

“They should go back to where they came from.”

ENDS

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