Seafood Industry says Sustainably Managed Fisheries Not at Risk
3 November 2006

The New Zealand Seafood Industry is committed to responsible fishing practices and the sustainable management of our oceans. By operating within the Quota Management System (QMS) and actively working with the Ministry of Fisheries, the industry has confidence that our fisheries will remain sustainable and continue to be managed well for future generations.

“Fish stocks naturally fluctuate. Fisheries scientists, the government and industry in New Zealand actively manage fisheries to maintain stocks at, or rebuild them to, productive and sustainable levels. All New Zealand seafood comes from fisheries that scientists report as sustainable and they are sustainable because of the QMS,” said New Zealand Seafood Industry Council chief executive Owen Symmans.

"New Zealand has a world-leading fisheries management system that sustains our fisheries. New Zealand fisheries are successfully managed in a way that places sustainability at the heart of decision-making. This has come about through the harvest rights conferred through the QMS," said Mr Symmans.

The New Zealand seafood industry has not had an opportunity to study the research paper published in the journal “Science” and will do so with interest but some scepticism. The lead author, Dr Boris Worm, has been severely criticised for earlier work he has published asserting that all the world’s tuna stocks are depleted, and now he is leading another similarly alarmist study. We will study the paper to establish whether it is a genuine work of scientific opinion that should indeed be taken seriously, or simply the collected views of opinionated scientists.

According to the FAO (the United Nation Fisheries and Aquaculture Organisation), more than 75 percent of global fish stocks are sustainably fished and will provide seafood now and for future generations, Mr Symmans said.

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