Rock Lobster Industry Challenge Recreational Lobbyist
Bay of Plenty Rock Lobster Industry Challenge Recreational Lobbyist
Commercial rock lobster fishermen in the Bay of Plenty (CRA 2) fishery are refuting statements made recently by Scott Macindoe of LegaSea, who claimed that “there are no crayfish” along North Island’s east coast.
Mark Wheeler, spokesman for the CRA 2 commercial fishermen, said today that “the recent LegaSea survey of 800 people had no scientific basis; had not been peer reviewed, and is no better than a collection of random opinions which certainly don't confirm the status of the CRA 2 stock.”
“Somehow, Scott Macindoe has seen fit to bypass the normal scientific process carefully set up by MPI to provide fair and balanced information for fisheries management”, Mr Wheeler said.
“Mr Macindoe clearly prefers to run some
kind of overblown vox-pop, then go bleating to the media
about how it supports his conclusion that the fishing
‘aint what it used to be’. This is no way to manage a
fishery, or anything else. To then blame MPI, commercial
fishermen, global warming, and everyone other than the
sector he purports to represent; is advocating a kind of
resource management anarchy”.
Commercial rock
lobster fishermen have experienced and documented cyclical
increases and declines in CRA 2 stock abundance since
official records began in 1979.
“If the science
signals that a quota cut is warranted, then that is what
happens, no question,” Mr Wheeler said.
“For
example, in the 2015/16 season quota was cut by 15% from
236T to 200T. This was done at the request of the CRA 2
commercial fishermen themselves. Again, in the 2016/17
season, 25% of commercial quota was voluntarily retired. In
both these instances, the initiatives were quickly taken by
commercial fishermen when they observed a steady decline in
CRA 2 stock abundance over several
seasons.”
“No prompting from LegaSea was
necessary – they played no part and had no influence.
However, that does not stop Mr Macindoe from twisting this
in the media as the Minister 'cutting' CRA 2 quota after
pressure from LegaSea – that is just not
true”.
Mr Wheeler said that CRA 2 commercial
fishermen believe they are the only ones actively doing
something about rebuilding the CRA 2 stocks to greater
abundance. He claimed that LegaSea and other pressure
groups seem to prefer pointing the finger at industry rather
than take any direct responsibility for the state of the
stock.
Mr Wheeler highlighted the massive increase in
recreational fishing in the Northland to Bay of Plenty
coastal area on the back of Auckland's rapid population
growth over two decades.
“Somehow LegaSea,
armed with their weak “science” and a great sense of
entitlement, believes that commercial fishermen must carry
all the blame for stock depletion – they refuse to
acknowledge the impact of recreational fishing and dive
effort across CRA 2.”, said Mr Wheeler.
Mr Wheeler
said that an approach had been made to the Minister’s
office to investigate a reduction in the recreational bag
limit for crayfish, to address localised depletion by the
massive influx of recreational dive and pot fishermen in the
Summer months.
“However, there has been no official
response so it would appear the Ministry is not prepared to
tackle this issue” he said.
Mr Wheeler stated that
the industry wants fisheries to be managed based on good
science, not politics. He advised that the recovery in CRA
2 abundance will not occur until recreational fishers
understand the pressures they are putting on the stock and
accept a shared responsibility to reduce their catches.
“The CRA 2 fishery is too valuable to let it be
mismanaged by squeaky wheels like Scott Macindoe”, Mr
Wheeler
said.
END