Outdoor Council Critical of Government Fishery Plans

Government proposals for Marine Protected Areas will adversely affect recreational fishing and do little or nothing to help the overall fishery says the Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations of NZ (CORANZ).

CORANZ co-chairman Bill Benfield of the Wairarapa said instead the solution for the good of the fishing was to properly manage the fishery in total.

"Reserves won’t solve the problem of mismanagement and over-fishing. The solution is to properly manage the whole fishery,” he said.

Bill Benfield said government proposals had been over-shadowed by pre-occupation with the two proposed recreational fishing parks in the Hauraki Gulf and Marlborough Sounds.

“Either by coincidence or deliberately, this has tended to over-shadow the main thrust of proposals.”

However dealing with recreational fishing park proposals, CORANZ felt the concept was very flawed.

"Frankly it’s full of fish hooks,” said Bill Benfield. “as fish migrate in and out of parks and will be caught under the QMS by commercial. In addition recreational fishing outside the two parks will become even more diminished as the argument will be recreational public have their parks, so that it's likely to be used as a political football to dismiss concerns by the public about fish stocks outside the parks.”

On marine protected areas the proposals will result in very large areas closed to all fishing. Recreational fishing which has no significantly adverse impact on fish stocks, will become banned. Another negative impact is that with substantial areas closed, that lost fishing effort would be shifted into areas outside thus increasing intensity of effort.

He cited the Marlborough Sounds ban on recreational blue cod fishing which shifted and intensified pressure to outside the closed area.

Proposals for self-reporting of catches by the recreational public would leave many wondering as to the purpose or motive.

"Why? The major concern is around commercial fishing pressure under the QMS with corporate players increasingly dominating the fishing effort and over-fishing stocks.Not with recreational fishing.”

Bill Benfield cited resources such as kahawai being plundered by company purse seiners and the Nelson-Marlborough scallop beds which had been over-fished by company scallop fleets.

It was in the interests of all sectors-commercial, recreational and customary to have “fish in abundance” and a well managed fishery.

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