Professional Skipper - Free Sample issue (July/Aug 2011)

MINISTRY OF FISHERIES NEW ZEALAND RATIFIES FISHING CONVENTION New Zealand has ratified a new convention to manage fisheries in the South Pacific. Under the terms of the convention, a new South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation will administer an area of ocean from Western Australia to the waters off South America, covering the Tasman Sea and the South Pacific. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Murray McCully, said the convention completed a comprehensive framework for sustainably managed South Pacific fisheries. On June 8, New Zealand became the first country to sign the convention and the fifth to become a party. It will come into effect when eight nations have completed their domestic ratification processes. "The SPRFMO is designed to help maintain economic security and stability, given the importance of fisheries to the Pacific's regional economy. New Zealand is well aware these stocks are subject to increasing demand and pressure," McCully said. The organisation will manage fish stocks that are not highly migratory, including commercially valuable orange roughy, bluenose tuna and jack mackerel. Highly migratory species are already managed by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. A range of controls will manage the fisheries, help ensure their long-term sustainability and address any adverse effects on the environment," said the Minister of Fisheries, Phil Heatley. Both ministers said they were confident enough countries would become party to the convention for it to enter into force by the end of 2012. LOBSTER FISHERMAN LOSES BOAT The owner of the rock lobster fishing boat Perfect Pursuit was fined $6350 and forfeited his $25,000 vessel and a seized rock lobster pot after he appeared for sentencing in the Gisborne District Court. celebrate the re-opening of the "truly superb fishery" 18 months ahead of schedule. He acknowledged the work done by the Marlborough Sounds Blue Cod Management Group, MFish and the local community. The fishery was closed after surveys showed blue cod in the fishery declined by about 64 percent overall between 1995/96 and 2004, then either continued to decline or remained at low levels for the next three years. A 2007 survey showed some improvement in the adult biomass and preliminary results from research last year support the trend. The new rules follow a cautionary "slot-compliant" approach and include: • limiting recreational catches to two blue cod of between 300- 350mm in length per person per day to protect juvenile fish (whose numbers are not increasing as quickly) and large, breeding adults • a two-hook limit to help non slot-compliant fish to survive and allow them to be returned to the water alive • a requirement that blue cod must be landed in a whole or gutted state to allow fishery officers to accurately monitor compliance with size limits, and • closing the waters around Maud Island to recreational fishing to provide an opportunity to research the blue cod population. A voluntary code of practice is also in place with recommended hook sizes and styles, as well as fish handling methods. Heatley says he will review the rules at the end of the next season and make changes if required. Anyone seeing suspicious activity in Marlborough or elsewhere should call 0800 4 POACHER (0800 476 224). PUTTING PAID TO PAUA POACHING Operation PAID was a year-long covert operation targeting the organised poaching, sale and distribution of paua from the Wellington coastline Jacob Kuil had earlier been found guilty of false catch reporting and having rock lobster pots with illegal escape openings. Ministry of Fisheries' field operations manager Tom Teneti said the misreporting had happened in two fishery management areas and it had been difficult to quantify the exact number of rock lobsters or their value. However, the court said the crew of the Perfect Pursuit had caught 341 kilos of rock lobster in the t relevant time. "Illegal activity in the commercial rock lobster fishery won't be tolerated," Teneti said. "The Poverty Bay fishery is particularly sensitive and it's important for its survival that all fishers behave responsibly." BLUE COD FISHERY OPEN AGAIN The renowned blue cod fishery in the Marlborough Sounds re-opened on April 1 for a five-month season after being closed for several years following a drop of about 64 percent from the mid-1990s. The season will remain open until August 31, then re-open seasonally from December 20 to August 31 each year. Minister of Fisheries, Phil Heatley, was in Marlborough to The The Ministry of Fisheries completed one of the longest and most comprehensive operations against paua poachers in New Zealand's history on April 6. Operation PAID, standing for Paua and Illegal Divers, netted 53 defendants, who faced 321 charges, over the previous two years. Twenty-eight received prison sentences ranging from seven months to 38 months, given to the purchaser of blackmarket paua on five occasions in early 2008 from an undercover fisheries officer. Twenty-three people received community-based sentences ranging from 70 hours of community service to seven months home detention and 200 hours of service. Operation PAID was a year-long covert operation targeting the organised poaching, sale and distribution of paua from the Wellington coastline. In May 2008, 200 fishery officers and Police undertook simultaneous action in Auckland, Wellington, Opotiki and Hastings to climax an operation that began six months earlier. "Unravelling sophisticated criminal enterprise like this takes exceptional organisation and persistence," said the Minister of Fisheries, Phil Heatley. "Fish thieves must be nailed." One Operation PAID defendant, Thin Thi Vu, took her technical defence all the way to the Supreme Court, where she lost. The maximum penalty under the Fisheries Act is $250,000 or five years' imprisonment. Vehicles, boats and gear used in committing offences can also be forfeited to the Crown. The most significant fine for paua poaching is $12,000. This sentence, which did not relate to Operation PAID, was given at the Whanganui District Court in May 2010 to an individual who had possessed and procured black market paua on four occasions. July/August 2011 Professional Skipper r 59

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