Seminar discusses fisheries management report

The Hauraki Gulf has provided rich fishing grounds for centuries. Sadly, commercial overfishing during the 1970s led to plummeting fish stocks. This prompted the introduction of the quota management system (QMS) in 1986.

The system created individual tradeable quota (ITQs), which were gifted to fishing vessel owners, and gave them the right to harvest a proportion of the total allowable commercial catch (TACC) for a stock.

Thirty years on, the Environmental Defence Society has undertaken an in-depth review of fisheries management in the Hauraki Gulf and other inshore areas. This was based on official fisheries assessment data supplemented by in-depth interviews with fishers.

The results were recently published in the book Voices from the Sea: Managing New Zealand’s Fisheries.

A seminar hosted by Auckland law firm Simpson Grierson enabled author Raewyn Peart, to discuss her findings with a panel comprising:

• Dr Andrew Jeffs, Professor of Marine Science, University of Auckland
• Dave Kellian, Independent Fisher
• Volker Kuntsch, Chief Executive Officer, Sanford
• Dr Glenn Simmons, Business School Research Fellow, University of Auckland
• Dion Tuuta, Chief Executive Officer, Te Ohu Kaimoana

The seminar was recorded and is available for viewing here

Read the full article in the Gulf Journal here.