Representatives of the commercial sector say the intent of the proposal is not to target the species.<\/p>\n
The melee over marlin is only one of 19 changes the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is considering. According to MPI\u2019s documents, a \u201cmajority\u201d of the latest tweaks were suggested by the commercial industry to \u201cincrease flexibility\u201d and reduce costs.<\/p>\n
Other proposed changes include:<\/p>\n
Allow trawl, longline and Danish seine operators to sell 19 non-quota reef fish like boarfish, red moki and marble fish when caught in fishing zones 1 and 9, which make up much of the North Island.Give set net operators the right to use bigger nets. The proposal suggests a system to increase net sizes from 3000m to 4500m in open water.Make the maximum time set nets can stay in the water standard nationwide. It\u2019s proposed net \u201csoak times\u201d be set to a maximum of 24 hours everywhere. This would allow fishers in the country\u2019s most popular fishery, which includes the Hauraki Gulf and Northland\u2019s east coast, to leave nets in the water longer.Review whether the present ban on Danish seiners fishing close to the South Island coast is fit for purpose.Matt Watson is dismayed at moves to benefit commercial fishing operators that he believes are at the expense of environmental protections. Photo \/ Annaleise Shortland<\/p>\n
Watson believes the latest round of proposed changes is all about making it easier for the handful of big fishing firms to make a buck.<\/p>\n
MPI\u2019s rationale for allowing set netters to use bigger nets \u2013 a proposal put forward by the industry \u2013 is to \u201cincrease the efficiency of each [fishing] trip\u201d because they can \u201cdeploy more gear\u201d.<\/p>\n
Watson said such policies are dangerous.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe word efficiency is just saying \u2018let them take more\u2019, which would be fine if there wasn\u2019t collateral damage,\u201d he told the Herald.<\/p>\n
The damage he\u2019s referring to is the unintended catch involved in set netting \u2013 for example, when dolphins get snagged and die.<\/a><\/p>\n He believes allowing universal soak time limits for nets is a \u201clazy\u201d blanket policy that will increase the chance of catching non-target or protected species.<\/p>\n He was also critical of plans to allow non-quota reef fish to be retained and sold by trawlers, Danish seiners and longliners in the upper north. <\/p>\n \u201cIt means that fishermen can be a little bit more sloppy with the ways that they\u2019re targeting fish. These reef species are important to the reef and the ecosystem,\u201d Watson said.<\/p>\n However, Seafood New Zealand (SNZ) policy manager Tamar Wells said the proposal to allow fishers in the upper north to sell reef fish was simply an extension of what was already permitted in the rest of the country. <\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment they [commercial fishers in FMA 1 and FMA 9] have to put them back dead,\u201d Wells said.<\/p>\n Set net fishers would still be barred from retaining or selling reef fish.<\/p>\n She said proposals for increasing the size of nets would increase efficiencies for those going offshore \u2013 trips that require more time and fuel. <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re better off going out there and having one big, long net than having to go out there twice, setting two short nets.\u201d<\/p>\n Wells said only approved vessel could use longer nets and existing rules such as area closures, bycatch reduction plans and cameras would help mitigate risks posed to protected species.<\/p>\n On standardising soak times, she said it was about reducing complexities, while claiming there was no rationale for varying soak times in different fishing areas.<\/p>\n Matt Watson says he isn\u2019t anti-commercial fishing. Years ago, he was a commercial gill net fisherman working with his grandfather.<\/p>\n His granddad used to tell him \u201cif it weighs, it pays\u201d when he was hauling catch from the nets \u2013 an adage Watson thinks is more real now than at any time before in light of the planned rule changes. <\/p>\n But he\u2019s become increasingly concerned about the future of New Zealand\u2019s fisheries, which he says are a public resource.<\/p>\n Watson feels our fisheries have become controlled by big business, which he claims is primarily focused on making a dividend for shareholders.<\/p>\n Consultation has closed on the proposed amendments to commercial regulations, with Jones expected to announce a decision next year.<\/p>\n The changes come after other significant pro-industry reforms<\/a>, such as the plan to stop the public from seeing camera footage of illegal activity on commercial boats. <\/p>\n Jones and NZ First have a long history of opposing cameras on boats.<\/p>\n In February, surrounded by members of the commercial fishing industry, including Sealord chief executive Doug Paulin, Jones announced plans to stop the public from seeing video of breaches on fishing boats by banning the release of footage under Official Information Act requests.<\/p>\n Other changes taken to Cabinet would reduce the opportunities for public consultation when catch limits are set.<\/p>\n Quota owners will have the right to carry forward an increased amount of uncaught catch into another fishing year; there\u2019s more flexibility to discard unwanted catch at sea, and the ability for fisheries decisions to be challenged in court will be reduced.<\/p>\n So, why the flurry of new rules that benefit the commercial fishing companies and their executives? Watson claims it\u2019s simple \u2013 \u201cbecause Shane\u2019s mates with them\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely, we [New Zealanders] should be worried about that conflict,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Jones: \u2018No one is ever going to cower me\u2019<\/p>\n Jones has flatly denied Watson\u2019s claim that he proposed the changes because he was friends with some commercial fishing executives.<\/p>\n The Oceans and Fisheries Minister – who last week dismissed Watson as having an \u201cunhinged crusade against commercial fisheries\u201d<\/a> – didn\u2019t deny he had mates in the sector.<\/p>\n But he told the Herald he was \u201cnot aware\u201d of any occasion where he\u2019d taken advice to Cabinet that didn\u2019t follow the rules.<\/p>\n According to the Cabinet manual, ministers \u201cmust give fair consideration and due weight\u201d to advice provided by officials when discussing options with Cabinet colleagues.<\/p>\n In his typically bombastic style, Jones referred to the spread of \u201cmisinformation\u201d on 10 occasions during an interview with the Herald about fisheries law changes.<\/p>\n He said linking fishing policy to his fishing friendships was the subject of \u201cscribbling\u201d all over social media, but it had no merit.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one is ever going to cower me by spreading misinformation and scribbling all over Instagram. It\u2019s just never ever going to happen,\u201d Jones told the Herald.<\/p>\n He also said efforts to taint him because of his former roles \u2013 he was Sealord chairman from 2002-05 \u2013 were also a low blow.<\/p>\n \u201cThey mistakenly think that bringing historical connections into the modern position I hold is somehow going to intimidate me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Jones didn\u2019t deny the latest proposed changes represented a wishlist from the commercial industry, saying he engaged with the commercial sector \u201cmultiple times a year\u201d, as he did with the petroleum and mining industries.<\/p>\n When asked why he didn\u2019t engage with recreational advocacy groups such as Legasea, he said it was mostly officials from MPI who talked with them.<\/p>\n Jones did recall a \u201cgreat meeting\u201d with one of the group\u2019s stalwarts, Scott McIndoe, who he \u201chad a lot of time for\u201d despite telling the Herald he didn\u2019t agree with him. <\/p>\n He didn\u2019t rule out more one-on-one huis with the recreational fishing sector.<\/p>\n \u201cThey [Legasea] have every opportunity to invite me to their meetings,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n Will marlin be commercially targeted?<\/p>\n At the centre of the controversy over the latest proposed changes has been the country\u2019s most iconic and sought-after game fish, the marlin.<\/a><\/p>\n For decades, catching one has been akin to the holy grail of fishing, especially for those who fork out big money for dedicated charter boat excursions.<\/p>\n If a commercial vessel catches one \u2013 they\u2019re caught mainly by tuna longliners \u2013 they must by law be thrown back. The proposed rule changes mean if a marlin is caught and it\u2019s dead, it can be kept and then sold.<\/p>\n MPI emphasises in its information pack on the proposed change that this doesn\u2019t mean commercial fishers will end up targeting marlin \u2013 a claim Watson says is \u201cbulls***\u201d.<\/p>\n Watson points to 1991 rule changes with swordfish \u2013 a different species to marlin \u2013 that allowed commercial fishers to land and sell swordfish, but only if caught accidentally.<\/p>\n Prior to this, domestic longline tuna fishers were required to release all billfish, including swordfish, regardless of the circumstance.<\/p>\n After the rule change, \u201cbycatch\u201d or mistaken catch of swordfish by commercial tuna fishers increased significantly. Then, in 2004, the species was added to the Quota Management System and that legitimised catching, keeping and selling the species.<\/p>\n Watson fears we\u2019re heading down the same path of mismanagement with marlin.<\/p>\n MPI says it would closely monitor the situation and if marlin catch rates shot up and camera footage or observers noticed skippers actively targeting them, \u201cfurther management action would be considered\u201d.<\/p>\n Watson doesn\u2019t accept such assurances.<\/p>\n \u201cThey [MPI] didn\u2019t do it with swordfish. They rewarded the guys taking them by giving them quota,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Jones told the Herald allowing commercial operators to land and sell dead marlin caught incidentally seemed like a good idea because the present rules mean they\u2019re just dumped at sea.<\/p>\n \u201cDo we throw all of the tucker back in the ocean, which is currently what we do, or do we bring it back for human consumption?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Jones did, however, accept the recreational sector had \u201cgenuine fears\u201d and promised to engage with the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council before making any decisions in the new year.<\/p>\n He said claims that commercial fishers would deliberately target marlin amounted to \u201ccatastrophising\u201d the issue.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s an allegation that they\u2019re making, and I really don\u2019t want to pour fuel on to the war of words between the recreationalists and the commercial sector,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n Seafood New Zealand says surface longline operators catch about 240 striped marlin annually, with about 60 put back dead each year. <\/p>\n Wells said targeting marlin would not make sound economic sense given longliners were chasing \u201chigh-value\u201d tuna. <\/p>\n \u201cIn order to get more dead marlin, they would need to be sacrificing their tuna catch, which would absolutely not be a good idea,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Wells said it was \u201cnot the intent\u201d of fishers to target marlin and catch rates would be carefully monitored. <\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s going to put me out of business\u2019<\/p>\n For Andy McGaughey, one of the Bay of Islands\u2019 original charter skippers, there\u2019s nothing exaggerated about the fears he and others hold for marlin amid the planned changes.<\/p>\n The 63-year-old, who has been taking people out game fishing for more than 40 years, says fishing is a huge part of the Bay of Islands economy.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cMost of my customers come from overseas, so they\u2019re buying an airfare, they\u2019re paying for accommodation, they\u2019re paying for restaurants, they\u2019re paying for shopping,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n When interviewed by the Herald, McGaughey had his vessel, Wahoo, out of the water in \u014cpua where he was paying yard fees for it to be reconditioned before a fully booked season.<\/p>\n He said marlin fishing had slowed down in recent years and the last straw would be further pressure from commercial longliners.<\/p>\n McGaughey doesn\u2019t accept the argument that allowing commercial boats to sell dead marlin is all about reducing waste.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t need that extra pressure, and I\u2019m sure the numbers [of marlin caught and sold by commercial operators] will increase,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He caught five marlin last year during what he said was a \u201chard year\u201d, and said every fish he caught was tagged and released.<\/a><\/p>\n McGaughey is certain if commercial operators can get money for selling marlin, they won\u2019t be letting them go. <\/p>\n Amid moves to legitimise their commercial sale, he fears for his future and the livelihoods of others in the Far North. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want this to happen because it\u2019s going to put me out of business.\u201d<\/p>\n McGaughey urged Jones to \u201clisten to the people\u201d rather than the dollars \u2013 a plea Jones is conscious of as he deliberates the next move.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it comes to pass that it\u2019s a molehill politically speaking, not worth dying on, then people will know where we stand in that regard,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n Another reason to ponder the plan could be MPI\u2019s latest stock assessment, which shows 19 stocks or sub-stocks are overfished. <\/p>\n The striped marlin is included in the list.<\/p>\n Tamar Wells is the inshore policy manager for Seafood New Zealand and says it wouldn’t make economic sense for longline fishers to start targeting marlin. Photo \/ Supplied.<\/p>\n
Investigative reporter Michael Morrah speaks with Matt Watson. Photo \/ Annaleise Shortland<\/p>\n
Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones signalled in February \u201cthe most significant reforms\u201d of New Zealand\u2019s fisheries for decades. Photo \/ Mark Mitchell<\/p>\n
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones describes himself as an apostle for the commercial sector. Photo \/ NZME<\/p>\n
Recreational anglers made their concerns known during the One Ocean protest across the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Photo \/ Anna Heath<\/p>\n
The most controversial proposal suggests allowing commercial operators to sell dead marlin, raising fears it could incentivise the species being targeted. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Matt Watson fears the proposed tweaks allowing commercial fishers to sell marlin will lead to the sought-after species being deliberately targeted. Photo \/ Annaleise Shortland<\/p>\n
Shane Jones pictured with a 305.9kg blue marlin he caught in 2015 while on a charter boat.<\/p>\n
Skipper Andy McGaughey has been a charter boat operator in the Bay of Islands for more than 40 years. Photo \/ Annaleise Shortland<\/p>\n
McGaughey says fishing is a critical part of the Northland economy. Photo \/ Annaleise Shortland<\/p>\n