Gregory James Fife received fines totalling $20,000 and 200 hours community work when he appeared for sentence in the Nelson District Court. The vessel that he skippered – the Remus – had been forfeited in March following conviction. Fife was a director of the company that owned the vessel, valued at $200,000.

In March 2012 Mr Fife entered guilty pleas to eight charges relating to making false entries in fishing returns and one charge of failing to furnish a return.

Under the quota management system, blue cod is managed by each fishstock within their respective quota management areas.

The offending related to taking blue cod from one quota management area (BCO3 – South East) and misreporting it as having been taken from another area (BCO5 – Southland).This illegal practice is commonly referred to within the industry as “trucking”.

In total, the offending, which took place between November 2010 and June 2011, saw Fife misreport a total of 3.5 tonnes of blue cod while operating out of the port of Bluff.

“The accurate recording and reporting of all fish taken commercially is essential to the integrity of the quota management system,” says Reece Murphy – the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Southland Compliance Manager.

“Catch rates have been in decline in the Southland blue cod fishery. Actions such as what has happened here can create a false picture of a healthier fishery than actually exists,” says Mr Murphy.

“It was pleasing to see the Court recognise the seriousness of such behaviour. The ministry hopes this creates a deterrent by sending a clear message to anyone else contemplating similar behaviour.”

“Commercial fishing relies largely on the honesty of fishers. The decision signals that abuse of this trust will not be tolerated.”

(fish.govt.nz)

“This is further recognition of New Zealand’s leadership in sustainable fisheries management,” says Scott Gallacher, MPI Deputy Director-General.

The London-based Marine Stewardship Council has announced it will certify the sustainability of three New Zealand southern blue whiting trawl fisheries in sub-Antarctic waters.

This follows an in-depth investigation into sustainability of the target fish stocks, environmental impacts of fishing and the management framework for the fisheries.

The MSC certification process is widely accepted as being the most robust certification process. No objections to certification of the southern blue whiting fisheries were received.

Southern blue whiting is the third New Zealand fishery to be certified by the MSC. The New Zealand commercial fishing industry made the application.

The first New Zealand fishery to be recognised by the MSC, hoki, is in the process of being recertified for the third time. The other is the albacore tuna troll fishery.

In 2010, nearly 17,000 tonnes (processed weight) of southern blue whiting was exported, realising a value of $26M.

(MPI aka MAF)

MPI Acting Inshore Fisheries Manager Steve Halley said that good fisheries management required a continuing process of review and adjustment using up-to-date scientific research and information.

“Catch limits need to be reviewed to reflect changes in the abundance of a fishstock and to ensure fishing is kept at sustainable levels.

“Other management controls are also reviewed to make sure they are operating effectively. If the catch limit for a species is reduced, controls that help limit catch also need to be adjusted to make sure limits are not exceeded,” said Halley.

The changes to recreational catch limits taking effect from 1 May are:

• A new recreational daily bag limit for blue cod in the Central (Egmont) Fishery Management Area (from North Taranaki to Titahi Bay) of 10 blue cod, within the existing 20 mixed finfish bag limit;
• A new recreational daily bag limit for blue cod in the Southland and Sub-Antarctic Fishery Management Area of 20 blue cod, within the existing 30 mixed finfish bag limit;
• A new recreational daily bag limit for bluenose of 5 bluenose, within the existing mixed finfish bag limit applicable in each area.

It was also announced last September that rig will be listed on Schedule 6 of the Fisheries Act, allowing commercial fishers to return rig to sea when likely to survive.

Rig is a small species of shark that is popular for use by fish and chip shops. A robust species, numbers can be increased by allowing fishers to return to the sea rig they don’t want, when they are likely to survive.

(fish.govt.nz)

25 times over the limit of illegally caught paua obtained via scuba diving

Mr Green said an aggravating factor in the find was that the man had been using Scuba equipment to take the paua.

It is illegal to take or be in possession of paua using scuba equipment.

“A lot of the larger, breeding paua, which is generally out of reach of snorkellers, will have been taken, affecting future paua stocks,” said Mr Green.

“It is particularly disappointing to see that the laws designed to protect the fish stocks for all users are being flouted in this way.”

The man could face penalties of up to five years imprisonment, and fines of up to $250,000.

Fishery Officers ask the public to report any suspicious activity in our fisheries by phoning 0800 4 POACHER (0800 476 224)

James Stevenson-Wallace, MAF’s Director for Fisheries Management, says the catch limit changes are based on careful consideration of the best-available scientific and management information as well as submissions from customary, recreational and commercial fishers and the public.

“Rock lobster fisheries are closely managed to ensure long-term sustainability as well as securing benefits for all fishery sectors.”

For the rock lobster fishery in the Gisborne area (which MAF calls CRA 3) the total catch limit will increase from 293 to 322.3 tonnes. This will apply to commercial fishers only. This increase is possible because scientific work indicates there are more rock lobsters in the fishery. The non-commercial allowances are unchanged.

In Otago (CRA 7) the total catch limit will decrease from 95.7 to 83.9 tonnes. The reduction in catch will come off the commercial catch limit only, and non-commercial allowances will be unaffected.

“The CRA 7 industry association is supportive of the reduction and is committed to building a stable fishery,” says Mr Stevenson-Wallace.

The CRA 7 fishery is currently going through a period of cyclic decline. The management tool being used is expected to provide a mechanism to rebuild the fishery.

Also, new decision rules will be used in the Wellington/Hawkes Bay (CRA 4) and Marlborough/Canterbury (CRA 5) rock lobster fisheries from 1 April onwards. The use of these tools results in no change to the total catch limits for these fisheries for the upcoming fishing year.

“The scientists were surprised with what is down there. It’s pretty amazing,” says NIWA’s Nelson Regional Manager Ken Grange. It’s believed the ROV footage has captured new species and previously undescribed habitats after only a week surveying Fiordland’s undersea sills.

“We know that the fiords are globally unique and have some of the highest marine diversity in New Zealand, but the discovery of these sill communities was outstanding. We can’t wait to get back and survey more of them,” says Grange.

“We found large areas of horny coral fans, rare and protected fragile red coral, sponges and sea pens. Large black coral trees, over a metre tall, were attached to the rocks and they provided shelter to large numbers of rock lobsters, while dense schools of fish, mainly butterfly perch, hovered above.”

“There were several dozens of things that are new to science: sponges, sea pens, corals, sea squirts and sea cucumbers. Prior to this trip, we didn’t know about these sill communities,” says Grange.

Ships’ anchors would be very destructive to such habitats. This year, 87 cruise ships will bring tourists to marvel at the spectacular scenery in Fiordland National Park. Next year there will be 90. Only a few of these ships drop anchor, but those that do can offload passengers in large numbers to sight-see in Zodiac boats.

In the past, Environment Southland and NIWA have scanned the Fiordland area using sonar to identify preferred areas where tourist cruise ships could anchor. Some of these areas include the sills that are now known to contain significant wildlife. Alternative anchoring sites will need to be identified.

The fiords were formed around 20,000 years ago as rising sea levels flooded valleys which had been carved by glaciers long before. They are characterised by deep basins with one or more rocky sills that mark the seaward extent of the former glaciers. Some fiords have several sills along their length and, because they tend to be relatively shallow (some less than 50m), are potential anchoring sites. Cruise ships have to anchor in roughly 50 metres of water. The basins are up to 300 metres deep.

Some of the ROV footage was shown to the Fiordland Marine Guardians at their last meeting in late April. Their interest and support will assist NIWA in seeking additional funding to explore other sills throughout the fiords, and help manage these unique habitats.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Department of Conservation (DOC), and University of Auckland scientists are investigating whether the sharks are residents or transient at these locations, and the size of the population inhabiting New Zealand. They want to learn more about where sharks go, and when, in an effort to reduce the chances of sharks being accidentally caught in set nets and on lines.

To work out where sharks go, the scientists must first tag them. The sharks are attracted to the boat with a berley of tuna oil and minced tuna. When the shark is close enough, a long pole is used to stab the tag into the shark, injecting it under the skin, in the muscle below the dorsal fin. That part of the shark is only exposed for a short time as it swims by.

Tagging is a well-coordinated team event. Underwater cameraman Kina Scollay takes video for photo-identification, while the scientists try to entice the sharks close come close to the boat with the tuna bait. The tagger waits for the shark’s back to be exposed below the dorsal fin and close enough to tag.

“The tagger has to focus intensely on that part of the shark, and decide in a split second when to attempt the tagging. If he is slightly too early or too late, there is a danger that the tag will not end up in the right place. The team has become much more skilful at doing this after several years of tagging,” says Dr Francis.

Pop-up tags stay on the shark for a predetermined time and record depth, location, and temperature, so they are useful for tracking shark movements to the tropics and back. After about a year the tag “pops up” and transmits data to the scientists’ email inbox via satellite.

On this trip, acoustic tags were also used as these provide information on a smaller scale, showing where sharks go to within a few hundred metres. The acoustic tags send out a coded pinging sound that is unique to every shark.

Data loggers can record when each shark is present by detecting their pings. The data loggers have a range of about 500 m, and 17 of these were deployed on moorings around northeastern Stewart Island and Ruapuke Island. The tags’ batteries last for two years, and the data loggers will be left in the water for that duration. The data will be downloaded from the data loggers at 3–6 month intervals.

The scientists say that the pieces of the puzzle are coming together.

“We have an exciting dataset that tells us where each shark was and when,” says DOC scientist Clinton Duffy.

“Last year’s tagging showed that all of the sharks tagged in March 2011 left Stewart Island by mid-June to mid-July 2011. From New Zealand, they then make journeys of more than 2500 km to tropical islands north of New Zealand. Because of their tropical migratory behaviour, we anticipate that we will continue to get a lot of hits on the loggers during autumn and early winter, with not much happening over late winter to summer while the sharks are away in the tropics.”

Crayfish

Mismanagement already has the locals feeling robbed of reasonable access to crayfish. There are fears quota
increases could be applied in other areas.
Hilton Webb, the NZ Sport Fishing Council’s Gisborne representative, believes the 17 percent increase is
unjustified.
“The 29 tonne quota increase, combined with the ongoing concession that allows commercial fishers to take
crayfish smaller than the amateur limit, means it will be a long time before we are likely to have a healthy
stock around Gisborne.”
The Gisborne-Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club has spent years of effort, time and money lobbying local Maori
leaders, the Ministry of Fisheries and Government for improved management.
“David Carter’s decision is a slap in the face for many locals and the Council”, added Mr. Webb.
Mark Connor, President of the NZ Sport Fishing Council, agrees with suggestions that commercial interests
have taken control of the National Rock Lobster Management Group, the statutory body charged with
representing all interest groups.
“Contrived Management Procedures have been applied and used in advice to the Minister, who is obviously
willing to risk increasing commercial catch at the earliest signs of a rebuild. This decision is a sad outcome
for club members, the community and their children’s future.
“In 2009 the Supreme Court made it plain that the Minister, when managing a fishery, must make an
allowance for the public that meets both quantity and quality thresholds.
“The current recreational allowances applying around Gisborne are meaningless if commercial interests are
capturing the majority of crayfish before they are even of legal size.”
The NZ Sport Fishing Council is consulting its members before deciding how to respond to this latest
decision.
A more equitable management regime that enables effective local input into decisions and greater numbers
of fish is required.
New management decisions apply to Rock Lobster around Wellington/Hawke Bay, Marlborough and Otago.
ENDS
Contacts:
Hilton Webb 027 2787486
Gisborne Tatapouri Sports Fishing Club, spokesman
Mark Connor 027 4327485
New Zealand Sport Fishing Council, President

(sourced New Zealand Sport Fishing Council )

The changes – which were announced by Government last September – are designed to support management of stocks of blue cod, bluenose, and rig (a species of small shark).

MAF Acting Inshore Fisheries Manager Steve Halley said that good fisheries management required a continuing process of review and adjustment using up-to-date scientific research and information.

“Catch limits need to be reviewed to reflect changes in the abundance of a fishstock and to ensure fishing is kept at sustainable levels.

“Other management controls are also reviewed to make sure they are operating effectively. If the catch limit for a species is reduced, controls that help limit catch also need to be adjusted to make sure limits are not exceeded,” said Halley.

The changes to recreational catch limits taking effect from 1 May are:

- A new recreational daily bag limit for blue cod in the Central (Egmont) Fishery Management Area (from North Taranaki to Titahi Bay) of 10 blue cod, within the existing 20 mixed finfish bag limit;

- A new recreational daily bag limit for blue cod in the Southland and Sub-Antarctic Fishery Management Area of 20 blue cod, within the existing 30 mixed finfish bag limit;

- A new recreational daily bag limit for bluenose of 5 bluenose, within the existing mixed finfish bag limit applicable in each area.

It was also announced last September that rig will be listed on Schedule 6 of the Fisheries Act, allowing commercial fishers to return rig to sea when likely to survive.

Rig is a small species of shark that is popular for use by fish and chip shops. A robust species, numbers can be increased by allowing fishers to return to the sea rig they don’t want, when they are likely to survive.

(source: MAF)

Marine scientists Dr Stuart Hanchet, from NIWA, and Dr Hyun-Su Jo, from Korea, recently completed the first survey of young Antarctic toothfish.

Dr Hanchet says the successful survey is the first in a series that will monitor numbers of young Antarctic toothfish in the Ross Sea region.

He says, “To monitor fish abundance properly, it is necessary that the surveys be conducted in a controlled and rigorous way. For example, this means using the same fishing gear and the same bait, at the same time and location every year. It is also important that the survey is carefully designed so that it samples the main area in which the target population is found.

“This survey will be an important monitoring tool to make sure the level of fishing remains sustainable.”

Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) are found at depths down to 2000 metres. Fish mature at a length of 120-130 cm, and most adults live to an average age of 20 to 24 years.

“We’re looking at both the number and size of fish that are between five and 10 years old and less than 100 cm in length”, says Dr Hanchet. “We currently collect good information to monitor the abundance of adult toothfish, but we don’t have the same quality of information for young fish. These fish are the adults of tomorrow, and by tracking this part of the population we can make sure that catch limits are set at the correct level in the future”.

“Using the results of the survey, we will be able to model and forecast the future fish population. We need to develop a series of surveys over time because a single survey by itself tells us very little,” says Dr Hanchet.

Under the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty, the Antarctic toothfish fishery is managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). CCAMLR sets the rules for fishing in the CCAMLR Convention Area, which includes the Ross Sea, and all participating member countries have to operate within these rules.

CCAMLR takes a precautionary approach to fishing in the Ross Sea. This means making careful and cautious decisions when there is uncertainty, so that the overall level of fish abundance remains high.

Countries fishing in the Ross Sea must tag a certain number of toothfish for scientific research, and carry out biological sampling of toothfish, as well as other fish species caught as by-catch.

“Tagging information has been critical to developing a comprehensive stock assessment model for the fishery to estimate biomass and set catch limits,” says Dr Hanchet.

New Zealand vessels voluntarily introduced tagging in 2001, and tagging for all CCAMLR vessels became mandatory in 2004. New Zealand fishery scientists began assessing toothfish stocks in 2005.

The survey was a New Zealand-led scientific contribution to CCAMLR. It was designed by marine scientists in NIWA and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Fisheries science), and involved a collaboration with the fishing industry, which provided the platform for the survey – the Sanford vessel San Aotea II.

The main objective of this first toothfish survey was to establish the feasibility of developing a time-series of surveys to monitor young toothfish in the southern Ross Sea using standardised commercial long-line fishing gear.

Fifty-nine random locations were surveyed using long-lines, each comprising 4600 hooks, set for up to 24 hours, within a survey area of 30,000 square kilometres. They caught mainly 70–100 cm toothfish (at times over 100 individuals per line), in depths from 300-900 metres. The fish caught were then measured and sexed, with biological samples taken for further analysis back in New Zealand.

The survey also demonstrated the feasibility of collecting samples for wider ecosystem monitoring. A large number of samples of muscle tissue and stomachs were collected from Antarctic toothfish and several other fish species, and will be analysed to understand feeding habits and relationships with other organisms in the food chain.

The results of this survey will be presented at the next CCAMLR meeting, together with a proposal to continue the survey in future years.

Background facts

• Fishing for Antarctic toothfish in the Ross Sea region began in 1997/8.
• The number of licensed fishing vessels in the Ross Sea is carefully controlled by CCAMLR. In the current 2011/12 season, 18 vessels were permitted to fish, of which 15 actually fished.
• The total catch limit this season was 3282 tonnes.
• New Zealand’s participation in the Ross Sea toothfish fishery is worth NZ$20-30 million per annum in export earnings.
• The New Zealand delegation to CCAMLR comprises officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and Department of Conservation. Representatives from the fishing industry and environmental NGOs have been included in the New Zealand delegation in past years.
• There are two toothfish species in Antarctica waters. The Antarctic toothfish is found around the Antarctic continent in Antarctic waters, and the Patagonian toothfish which is found further north in sub-Antarctic waters. In the mid to late 1990s the Patagonian fish was heavily over fished by illegal vessels. The stocks are believed to have stabilised, and in some cases re-built.

(source: Niwa)