Appendix 3: Fisheries Management

Management measures

The Guardians proposed a number of fisheries management measures in the Fiordland area. These are to prohibit commercial fishing inside the habitat lines, [Habitat lines were identified by the Guardians as practical expressions of the boundaries of the inner and entrance/outer habitats for each fiord. As much as possible they have been placed at easily identified and marked locations.] and for non-commercial fishing (customary and amateur measures) to:

modify species bag limits
encourage harvesting to take place at the fiords entrances and along the outer coast
prohibit accumulation of bag limits for some species
provide for a temporary two-year closure through regulation for blue cod in Milford and Doubtful Sounds
restrict bulk harvesting methods.

Some of the management measures proposed by the Guardians have changed as a result of subsequent discussions with staff from the Ministry of Fisheries. These discussions highlighted that, for practical enforcement reasons, it would be easier to keep bag limits at the same number in adjoining areas, and that instead of a S186B closure, this could also be achieved through regulation (as described below). The fisheries management measures that have been endorsed by the Investigative Group are outlined in Table 1 below (with the measures that have been changed by the Investigative Group in italics).

Table 3: Fisheries management measures endorsed by the Investigative Group

Area	Management measures
Milford and Doubtful Sounds	Commercial fishing No commercial fishing inside the Doubtful Sound habitat lines (Milford Sound has been closed to commercial fishing since the 1950s). Non-commercial fishing Two-year closure for blue cod, plus two additional years if necessary (the Guardians suggested a Section 186B temporary closure for blue cod, however the closure can be achieved more simply through the fisheries sustainability rounds). Groper daily bag limit of three, no accumulation (changed from two for enforcement reasons).* Rock lobster daily bag limit of three, no accumulation (changed from two for enforcement reasons).*
Inside rest of the fiords	Commercial fishing No commercial fishing inside the habitat lines. Non-commercial fishing bag limits Blue cod daily bag limit of three, no accumulation.* Groper daily bag limit of three, no accumulation.* Rock lobster daily bag limit of three, no accumulation.*
Fiord entrances and outer coast	Commercial fishing Harvest capped by the QMS. [Harvest is already capped by the QMS, so there is no change to commercial fishing in these areas.] Non-commercial fishing bag limits Blue cod daily bag limit of 20, no accumulation* (includes the three blue cod limit from within the fiords). Groper daily bag limit of five, no accumulation* (includes the three groper limit from within the fiords). Rock lobster daily bag limit of six, with a three-day accumulation limit of 15. This measure is associated with a bag and tag provision relating to each day's catch.
Applying both "Inside rest of the fiords" and to "Fiord entrances and outer coast"	Non-commercial fishing bag limits Scallop and paua daily bag limit 10, no accumulation.* [Note that the daily bag limit for paua and scallops is already 10. The change proposed is to limit accumulation.] Groper included in the total finfish bag limit. Total finfish bag limit of 30 with no accumulation.* Jock Stewart (Sea Perch) daily bag limit of 10 with no accumulation* - outside the combined daily finfish bag limit. Non-commercial bulk harvesting methods No cod pots inside the habitat lines of any fiord. Dahn lines limited to two/boat and five hooks per line. Rock lobster pots limited to three/boat. No scallop dredges and no set nets.

* Accumulation refers to aggregation of catch in extended recreational fishing trips of several days' duration. To exercise this defence the fisher must be able to prove that the fish or shellfish was taken within the prescribed daily limit on each day fished.

Options for implementation

All of the fisheries management measures proposed can be implemented through regulation. Regulations are provided for under section 11 of the Fisheries Act 1996; which allows for the implementation of any sustainability measure or variation of sustainability measure by:

a. notice in the Gazette; or

b. recommending the making of regulations under section 298.

Furthermore, general regulations are provided for under section 297.

The proposed fisheries regulations have been provisionally allocated space in the Ministry of Fisheries April 2005 sustainability round process, or they can be run in a separate process, depending on the implementation timing required.

In order to create a complete package of management measures it may also be possible for the fisheries regulations to be implemented as a part of any new legislation. The legislation would simply include the regulations as a schedule. They would continue to be Fisheries Act regulations. This would allow the public and the Select Committee to see the full package of management measures that require statutory change and consider them as whole. The advantage of this would be to provide Parliament with a Bill referencing all the significant resource management measures in one package. It is, however not necessary to do this, as the current process for setting fisheries regulations can operate in a timely manner to implement the measures.

Enforcement and compliance

The Guardians acknowledge that, due to the isolated nature of the Fiordland environment and the limited resources available, high levels of voluntary compliance with existing and new regulations will be critical to the success of their Strategy.

Fisheries compliance relies on influencing people's behaviour through effective communication and use of information tools to promote local fishing rules and to encourage responsible fishing practices. Therefore an important component of any compliance regime is the provision of targeted educational material.

Improving compliance education and raising levels of awareness is an important tool in promoting a high level of acceptance of fishing rules. However, a strong enforcement deterrent regime is also required to deter people from carelessly or deliberately breaching fisheries regulations. A balance of both education and enforcement deterrent tools will need to be developed specifically for the Fiordland area and should include the Guardians as advocates and promoters of educational awareness measures. The exact nature of this balance should be explored further by the Ministry of Fisheries in conjunction with the Guardians.

In addition, interagency co-operation and improved co-ordination of enforcement measures should be explored, in conjunction with the National Maritime Co-ordination centre. Presently the facility exists for appropriate Department of Conservation officers to be warranted as Honorary Fisheries Officers (HFOs) with limited training provided to assist in the delivery of non-commercial fisheries enforcement and education. Each HFO has to be supervised by a Fisheries Officer; however, given the limited resources available to fisheries enforcement in the Fiordland area and recent changes to Health and Safety requirements this could be problematic. The approach that the Investigative Group recommends in order to address these issues is outlined in Appendix 9: Compliance and Enforcement.

Summary

The fisheries management measures proposed are:

commercial fishing:
- prohibit commercial fishing inside the habitat lines
non-commercial fishing (customary and amateur measures):
- modify species bag limits
- encourage harvesting to take place at the fiords entrances and along the outer coast
- prohibit accumulation of bag limits for some species
- provide for a temporary two-year closure through regulation for blue cod in Milford and Doubtful Sounds
- restrict bulk harvesting methods.

To implement these management measures:

All of the fisheries management measures proposed can be implemented through regulation by the Ministry of Fisheries or as a part of any new legislation.

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