HECTORS & MAUI DOLPHINS - please read (July 2019)
Dear Members
I am forwarding the email below for your information and action. It's important that you and your friends show interest and make a submission on the proposed Hector's and Maui dolphin Threat Management Plan.
Fisheries New Zealand and the Department of Conservation are currently consulting on a new long-term plan to protect Hector’s and Māui dolphins. They want this consultation to give them a better idea of the likely impacts on individuals and communities.
They are holding a public meeting on:
Thursday 25th July at the Airforce Museum, 45 Harvard Avenue, Wigram between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m
This will give you possibly the last opportunity to hear about the proposed plan and ask questions before it is finalised. There is strong support for a total ban for all gill nets and that may include flounder nets. This would be a major change and affect many fishers. Once instituted, it would be very difficult, if not impossible to get reversed. Your input is so important for the future of recreational fishing especially within the harbour.
Submissions on the updated Threat Management Plan close on the 4th August so not a lot of time to research and make your submission.
Regards
Mike Harding
Secretary
Media Release - South Island Recreational Fishing Working Group - Christchurch (7 April 2019)
The key to improving South Island marine recreational fishing is having fishers’ interests well represented to Government and others, says a working group of South Island fishers.
Jim Crossland, Chair of the South Island group, says “The management of New Zealand’s recreational fisheries has been increasingly contentious. As a group, we have been exploring some practical ways to bring about improvements. Recently, we drafted a proposed organisation to represent South Island recreational fishing interests, which we consider will be a sound basis for bringing about improvements now and in the future.”
“Several South Island fishing clubs have already recognised the need for collective representation. They realise that if joined together, they can accomplish a lot more than if they continue to work individually or in small groups. It is critical that the name of the new organisation reflects our collective outlook. We propose ‘Fish Mainland’ as a suitable name,” says Babara Reay.
“The proposed organisation is similar to Recfishwest, which has successfully represented all 750,000 recreational fishers in Western Australia for several years. During our recent two-day meeting, we had the advantage of learning first-hand from Ian Stagles, a Founder of Recfishwest, regarding how we can apply lessons learnt in Western Australia to design an organisation that represents all 100,000+ South Islanders who fish,” says Brett Bensemann.
“One lesson we learnt from Ian is the importance of having effective and transparent governance arrangements. For this reason, the group designed the representative organisation to have five elected members of the Board of Directors located in the main regions, two others representing South Island Iwi and two more selected for the skills they bring, notably legal and accounting. The Directors are intended to be the ‘go-to people’ for regional concerns and solutions that need to be addressed”, says Brett.
“Another lesson learnt is to have clearly defined roles for representation of each fishing sector and other interests and rules for their engagement. In Western Australia, this has led to mutual understanding and trust and new ways of working together”, says Larnce Wichman.
“These same lessons have been fundamental to the success of the Marine Guardians of Kaikoura and Fiordland. It follows that the proposed representative organisation is designed to support the Marine Guardians, fishing clubs and other groups in pursuing their own objectives,” says Larnce.
Ian Stagles went on to say, “a representative organisation for the South Island will be effective, so long as it is inclusive of other groups and interests, and nurtures mutual respect and trust over time. From what I’ve heard, the Guardians have demonstrated that this approach achieves far more than continued arguing over access and catch levels.”
“The real motivation for establishing a representative organisation should be to ensure everyone is able to enjoy fishing, while also looking after the fishstocks. We need to ensure they are sustained for future generations,” says Fred Te Miha.
The purpose of the proposed South Island representative organisation is:
To coordinate, represent, and promote the interests of the South Island marine recreational fishing community in restoring and sustaining fisheries resources to maximise their experiences and opportunities.
Neville Gurr says, “We also discussed the contentious issue of recreational fishing licences. Licence fees fund Recfishwest’s operations and numerous projects and research that directly benefit recreational fishers, such as re-stocking programmes and buying out commercial fishing permits. Western Australians accept recreational licence fees because the benefits they provide are readily apparent.”
“Even though we have looked into a South Island marine licence system that could fund the representative organisation at a fraction of the cost of freshwater licence fees, we considered it would be unviable, if it did not gain broad support,” says Neville.
“Our preferred funding option involves the Government funding the organisation through a portion of the excise duty paid on fuel used in boat motors. Fuel used in boats is taxed in the same way as petrol used in cars. This means that boaties pay 63 cents per litre to the National Land Transport Fund. In other words, each time you fill a 20 litre tank for a boat, you pay $12.60 to subsidise roading projects, and pay GST on the road tax,” says Jim.
In addition to petrol excise duty, the working group is exploring the following funding options:
1. One-for-one matching funding with Government.
2. Service level agreement with Government (consulting, monitoring, undertaking surveys).
3. Voluntary membership fee (with purchase discounts).
4. Fee added to boat trailer registration.
5. ID permit to fish from a power boat (also provides database for low-cost surveys).
Alan Key says “Back in 2010, we tried to form a similar representative organisation, and self-funded no less. The idea gained wide support amongst South Islanders. However, when we took our proposal north, it encountered resistance from a few groups. Also, the Ministry of Fisheries at that time was undergoing extensive restructuring, and so it wasn’t very receptive to doing things differently.”
“The Minister of Fisheries, Stuart Nash, and MPI have been calling for innovative solutions to problems and ideas for improving engagement on fisheries issues. We believe we’ve delivered on both counts with a focus that supports South Islanders’ aspirations,” says Alan.
“Now that the working group has drafted the representative organisation, we are seeking feedback from fishing clubs and those who are not affiliated with any clubs (97% of all fishers). Fishers’ feedback will be vital for the group to meet again in May to finalise their recommendations and then present them to Minister Nash. We welcome your constructive questions and comments,” says Jim.
The working group includes:
Jim Crossland (Chair) Canterbury bayfieldenter@xtra.co.nz
Fred Te Miha Top of the South 021 661 662
Larnce Wichman Marlborough / Kaikoura larnce@craservices.co.nz
Barbara Reay Canterbury bkreay@gmail.com
Neville Gurr Canterbury gurr.n.a@xtra.co.nz
Nigel Scott Ngai Tahu area Nigel.Scott@ngaitahu.iwi.nz
Craig Dewar Otago craig@dewarplumbing.co.nz
Stewart Bull Ngai Tahu area stewartbull@outlook.co.nz
Brett Bensemann (observer) Otago brettbensemann@gmail.com
Alan Key (observer) Southland alanandrewkey@gmail.com
Randall Bess (support) randall.bess@tnc.org
Media contact: Jim Crossland 021 0294 5996 / 03 355 9433 bayfieldenter@xtra.co.nz
Further information
The working group’s proposed outcomes for Fish Mainland are:
• A healthy and abundant marine environment.
• Access to an equitable share of the available fisheries resources.
• The recreational fishing voice being heard in management decisions.
The group’s proposed objects for Fish Mainland (as an incorporated society) are:
1. To protect our ocean Tangaroa by actively supporting the restoration of fisheries and striving for a healthy and abundant marine environment.
2. To provide an effective voice in representing and promoting recreational fishing interests to Government and others to ensure recreational fishers have access to an equitable share of sustainable fisheries resources.
3. To be recognised as a major participant in fisheries management processes and decision making.
4. To provide recreational fishing information for statutory and management decisions.
5. To develop and implement strategies, policies and plans to improve the recreational fishing experience.
6. To empower recreational fishers to achieve their aspirations and expectations.
7. To encourage, educate and promote responsible and safe recreational fishing for its health and well-being benefits for the South Island community.
8. To work with Government, Iwi and other fishing sectors and interests on matters of common interests.
9. To do any other activities required to achieve the purpose of the society.
END
2017 - In the later part of the year, the Club has actively participated in consultation and making a submission on the NZ initiative sponsored project "The Future Catch" being conducted by Dr Randall Bess. The purpose of this project is to try and set in stone a successful course for fair and equitable recreational representation to ensure that all recreational fishers retain the ability, both now and in the future, to "catch a feed" for their families with due regard for the sustainability of the fisheries. Previous efforts to do this have failed.
Giving harbour fishers and Club members input into the activities and policies of the NZ Recreational Fishing Council (Inc) and having our views recorded. Also attending their Annual Conferences held in various parts of NZ in early July. For the information of Club members; $1.12 pa of your Club subscription goes to the NZRFC to enable you to have input into decisions on both national and local issues and the right to have a representative on the Council.
2005 - (March), Working with and assisting local Maori community and SeaRight Investments seed 5000 juvenile paua into a selected area of Akaroa Harbour