Marine – B50 should be our goal

We often highlight the social and environmental value that would be created for all New Zealanders from having a healthy fishery. Of equal importance is the long-term economic opportunities that arise from a well-managed fishery. Unfortunately, our Quota Management System is designed for short term wealth generation.

A perfect example of this is scallops. Twenty years ago, there were 24 scallop boats fishing out of Whitianga. Today, there are none. The scallop fishery has collapsed. How did we get here? A decade ago, the commercial scallop industry convinced Fisheries New Zealand to increase their harvest limits.

The fishers claimed there were so many scallops that they should be entitled to catch more. Fisheries NZ successfully convinced the Minister to comply with those demands. In the 2012/13 season, the commercial scallopers harvested 332% of their allowable quota! In just a few years, they had decimated the scallop populations.

Fast forward to last year, the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries David Parker announced the emergency closure of the north-east coast scallop fishery. With that announcement, the last businesses that relied on that fishery were bereft. It’s simple. No scallops = no business. It is impossible to profit if there are no fish in the water.

However, if a conservative approach had been applied, a scallop industry may still exist. Conservative harvest limits and a timely transition from the destructive scallop dredging to diving would have made all the difference.

We are not crying over spilt milk because the same logic applies to all fisheries. Particularly when destructive fishing techniques, such as bottom trawling and scallop dredging, are used. Destroying the environment to catch shrinking fish populations will not generate long-term profitability.

For too long, officials have attempted to justify bottom trawling and scallop dredging because they are ‘economically viable’. In reality, these techniques coupled with over-allocation are cannibalising the industry. It’s short-term greed at long-term cost.

This is especially true for the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. After a century of exploitation, the marine environment is not as productive as it once was. Gurnard, hāpuku, and John Dory are rare these days.

This starts with the government implementing a policy to rebuild fish populations to a minimum of 50% of their natural, un-fished levels. This is known as B50 and is internationally recognised as best practice. To achieve B50, we need to ban industrial bulk-harvest fishing such as bottom trawling and apply conservative harvest limits to allow the populations to rebuild.

A conservative approach now will mean greater economic opportunities in the future. We need to begin by focusing on rebuilding our fisheries. More fish in the water means reduced overheads, smaller fuel bills, less effort and, therefore, fishing becomes more profitable and selective fishing techniques increasingly viable.

Incredibly, because it is about money, consumers can drive change. Simply ask for local, line-caught fish. Even better, buy directly from your local commercial longline fisher.