Full details at http://www.victoria.ac.nz/chaplains/whatson/do-something-fish.html A Human FM-sponsored DO SOMETHING! event at the VUW Anglican Chaplaincy. www.dosomething.org.nz

1. Do something then! The End of the Line:
New Zealand Fisheries Quota Management
experience & lessons.
Catherine Wallace, Senior Lecturer
School of Government,
Victoria University of Wellington
& ECO
1

2. Is NZ’s fisheries Management a
Success?
What would success be?
Success for whom?
Proposition:
Fisheries management success should be
judged by social goals, not primarily
private goals.
But first, some background.
2

3. New Zealand Management Zone
3

4. Marine Relevant law
Resource Management Act to 12 nautical miles
– no environmental management regime from
12-200 nm. Does not control fishing allocation.
Conservation Act 1987
Wildlife Act 1954
Marine Mammals Protection Act – but fishing
related mortality continues.
Marine Reserves Act 1971 – in revision to widen
the grounds for marine reserves, new
processes.
Oceans Policy- stalled preparation – legislative
implications unclear.
Seabed and foreshore Act – ownership and
control disputed. 4

5. Conservation
Conservation Act 1987 established the Department of
Conservation (DoC). Responsible for conservation
advocacy, marine mammal protection, marine reserves,
protected species, wildlife, biodiversity protection.
All marine mammals and almost all native animals
protected.
DoC & customs responsible for prevention of Trade in
Endangered Species under CITES convention.
5

6. Marine and Fisheries
Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone and EEZ
Act 1978
Fisheries Act 1983 (mostly now repealed)
Fisheries Act 1996 & amendments.
Treaty of Waitangi (Fisheries Settlement
Act) 1992
Aquaculture Reform process 2005 – 2010
6

7. New Zealand Management
Area
Coast -12 nm – Territorial Sea
(TS) – NZ Sovereignty
12-24 nm – Contiguous Zone –
border protection zone
12-200 nm Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) – resource rights
and management obligations.
Marine area to 200nm Exclusive
Economic Zone is x15 the land
area of NZ.
Delineation of the continental
shelf gives NZ soverign rights to
resources on seabed area of x24
land area.
7

8. Fisheries Acts 1983 and 1996
Fisheries Management is principally governed by the
Fisheries Act 1996. The Ministry of Fisheries administers
it.
The Act sets the framework and detail of fisheries
management.
Commercial fishing mostly in the Quota Management
System.
Consultation restricted to national representatives of
commercial, recreational, customary fishers;
environmental representatives and reps of Maori with an
environmental interest.
No provision for public input.
8

9. Evolution of New Zealand’s
Quota Management System (QMS)
1983 – trial deepwater quota management,
Administrative exclusions of many small fishers from all
fisheries.
1986 - QMS introduced: Total Allowable Catch (TAC),
Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) & Individual
Transferable Quota (ITQ).
“Grand-parented” quota & buy-backs.
Subsequent additions to QMS of other species
Rights in perpetuity to access absolute tonnage
– Subject to sustainability constraints and other law.
ITQs converted to % share of TACC 1990
Evolution to Annual Catch Entitlements (ACE)
Quota owner associations formed mid 1990s
9

10. Treaty of Waitangi Settlement
Treaty of Waitangi (Fisheries Settlement) Act 1992
gave Maori 10% of then quota and $150 mil for
half share of Sealords Ltd – which had quota
too. It provided that when new species are
added to the QMS, Maori are allocated 20%.
Allocation to Maori given to Treaty of Waitangi
Fisheries Commission.
Allocation between Maori in dispute until 2004.
10

11. Questions
Is a property rights regime a necessary or
sufficient condition for the maintenance of fish
stocks?
Has the New Zealand property rights based
fisheries Quota Management System (QMS)
been a success in terms of its management of
fish stocks and impacts on the environment?
How does that inform choices for the future, for
others and for other uses of property rights
regimes?
11

12. Predictions from theory
The outcome of ITQs and quota
owner associations does NOT
remove the incentive to “mine”
stocks.
High discount rates provide an
incentive to “mine” the resource and
invest the proceeds elsewhere.
The outcome will be that “mining”
stocks will be done co-operatively
and more efficiently from a financial
point of view.
Incentives to shift costs to others
and environmental harm will remain
strong.
12

13. Property rights
New Zealand introduced the Quota
Management System in 1983-86 in the belief
that owning Individual Transferable Rights to
access fish would improve efficiency and provide
fishers with an incentive to:
– Decrease competitive fishing
– Reduce “capital stuffing”
– Reduce fishing vessel capacity
– Maintain fish stocks
– Take more care of the host environment.
Hope that the solution to over-fishing fish stocks
is the creation of property rights, overlooked
some basic drivers – discount rates, slow
growing fish, externalities.. 13

14. Property rights & Institutions
• Initial individual allocations Resource Rentals
were of an absolute replaced by cost
tonnage recovery.
• Since 1990 a % share of Cost Recovery regime for
the TACC. commercial fisheries
• Evolution of institutions management and
and rules has continued – research - about 70-50%
• Property right has evolved of the total costs of the
into separable Ministry of Fisheries –
entitlements Mechanism for huge
• eg Annual Catch degree of influence.
Entitlement, ACE
14

15. Quota Owner Associations
The Theory of Clubs and other organisational
and institution theory lies behind the idea of
quota owner associations.
Quota owners can form mutually binding contracts and
rules to diminish competitive fishing, to limit over-
capacity, to enhance compliance with quota owner
generated rules.
BUT their management objectives are not the
same as society at large.
– Flaw in suggestions of industry management and
research. Risks.
– Demand for rapid economic returns inconsistent with
biological rates. 15

16. Fisheries Act 1996: Purpose s8
Utilisation while Ensuring Sustainability
S 8. Purpose---(1) The purpose of this Act is to provide for the
utilisation of fisheries resources while ensuring sustainability.
BUT Utilisation is not clearly constrained despite this:
S 8(2) “Ensuring sustainability means—
a) Maintaining the potential of fisheries resources to meet the
reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations; and
b) Avoiding, remedying, or mitigating any adverse effects of
fishing on the aquatic environment.
“Utilisation” means conserving, using, enhancing, and developing
fisheries resources to enable people to provide for their social,
economic, and cultural well-being.
16

17. Fisheries Act 1996
Relevance of International Law
Title: an Act to reform and restate the law relating to fisheries
resources and to recognise NZ’s international obligations
relating to fishing
S 5. Application of international obligations and Treaty of Waitangi
(Fisheries Claims) Settlement Act 1992 -- This Act shall be
interpreted, and all persons exercising or performing functions,
duties, or powers conferred or imposed by or under it shall act, in a
manner consistent with –
(a) New Zealand’s international obligations relating to fishing
UNCLOS places an unqualified obligation on states to “protect and
preserve the marine environment” (Art 192). Right to exploit (Arts
61, 193) subject to this.
Convention on Biodiversity + other international environmental and
other obligations relating to fishing applies.
17

18. Fisheries
Consistency with international obligations and Treaty
of Waitangi fisheries Settlement Act (s5)
Purpose of the Act Utilisation and Sustainability – no
heirarchy.
Environmental Principles (s9) – but the environment
& biodiversity has been significantly damaged by
trawling and other fishing methods.
Ineffective variant on Precautionary Principle (s10) –
Environment not the object of precaution.
Applies in the Territorial Sea, 200 nautical mile
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) , Southern Ocean
and elsewhere.
National Plans of Action on sharks.
18

19. Fisheries Act 1996
Environmental Principles
9 Environmental principles
All persons exercising or performing functions, duties, or
powers under this Act, in relation to the utilisation of fisheries
resources or ensuring sustainability, shall take into account the
following environmental principles:
(a) Associated or dependent species should be maintained above
a level that ensures their long-term viability:
(b) Biological diversity of the aquatic environment should be
maintained:
(c) Habitat of particular significance for fisheries management
should be protected.
[Note: Reasons for significance are not spelt out.]
BUT in fact Serious losses of fish stocks, destruction of
sea-floor ecosystems, and serious losses of marine
mammals, seabirds and invertebrates. 19

20. Fisheries Resources:
“Fisheries resources” means any one or more
stocks[1] or species of fish[2], aquatic life[3], or
seaweed[4]:
[1] “Stock” means any fish, aquatic life or
seaweed of one or more species that are treated
as a unit for the purposes of fisheries
management:
[2] “Fish” includes all species of finfish and
shellfish, at any stage of their life history,
whether living or dead:
20

21. Aquatic life, Seaweed
[3] “Aquatic life” -
(a) means any species of plant or animal life
that, at any stage in its life history, must inhabit
water, whether living or dead; and
(b) Includes seabirds (whether or not in the
aquatic environment).
[4] “Seaweed” includes all kinds of algae and
sea grasses that grown in New Zealand fisheries
waters at any stage of their life history, whether
living or dead:”
21

22. Fisheries Act 1996
Precautionary Principle
S 10 Information principles---All persons exercising or performing
functions, duties, or powers under this Act, in relation to the utilisation of
fisheries resources or ensuring sustainability, shall take into account the
following information principles:
(a) Decisions should be based on the best available information:
(b) Decision makers should consider any uncertainty in the information
available in any case:
(c) Decision makers should be cautious when information is uncertain,
unreliable, or inadequate:
(d) The absence of, or any uncertainty in, any information should not be
used as a reason for postponing or failing to take any measure to
achieve the purpose of this Act .
22

23. S 11 Sustainability measures---
S 11 Sustainability measures---
(1) The Minister may, from time to time, set or vary any sustainability
measure for one or more stocks or areas, after taking into
account---
(a) Any effects of fishing on any stock and the aquatic environment;
(b) Any existing controls under this Act that apply to the stock or area
concerned; and
(c) The natural variability of the stock concerned.
(2) Before setting or varying any sustainability measure under
subsection (1) of this section, the Minister shall have regard to
any provisions of -
(a) Any regional policy statement, regional plan, or proposed regional
plan under the Resource Management Act 1991; and
(b) Any management strategy or management plan under the
Conservation Act 1987 that apply to the coastal marine area and
are considered by the Minister to be relevant.
23

24. Orange
roughy
– up to
150 years
old
- mature
around
30 years
24

25. Fishing Impacts –
Trawl fisheries – especially bottom trawl –
– Destroy habitat, seafloor communities.- Massive
tonnages of gorgonian corals, hydroids, coraline
organisms, etc crushed on seamounts, “black smokers”
, sensitive soft & hard sediment environments.
– Marine mammal, bird drownings and other deaths
Photo: Greenpeace
25

26. Scampi – 5-10 tonnes of bycatch
per tonne of scampi
Ling,
skate,
dories,
hoki,
javelin
fish,
sea
perch
and
scampi
26

27. S 11 Sustainability measures---
Matters to take into account
(2A) Before setting or varying any sustainability measure
under this Part or making any decision or recommendation
under this Act to regulate or control fishing, the Minister
must take into account -
(a) Any conservation services or fisheries services; and
(b) Any relevant fisheries plan approved under this Part; and
(c) Any decisions not to require conservation services or
fisheries services.
27

28. S 11 Sustainability measures---
what they are
(2A) continued:
(1) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1) of this section,
sustainability measures may relate to -
(a) The catch limit (including a commercial catch limit) for any stock or,
in the case of a quota management stock that is subject to section
13 or section 14 of this Act, any total allowable catch for that stock:
(b) The size, sex, or biological state of any fish, aquatic life, or seaweed
of any stock that may be taken:
(c) The areas from which any fish, aquatic life, or seaweed of any stock
may be taken:
(d) The fishing methods by which any fish, aquatic life, or seaweed of
any stock may be taken or that may be used in any area:
(e) The fishing season for any stock, area, fishing method, or fishing
vessels.
28

29. NZ Fisheries Act 1996:
Total Allowable Catch -MSY
S 13(2)(a): Total Allowable Catch
(2) “The Minister shall set a total allowable catch that-
(a) Maintains the stock at or above a level that can produce
the maximum sustainable yield, having regard to the
interdependence of stocks.”
S 2: MSY means “the greatest yield that can be achieved over
time while maintaining the stock’s productive capacity, having
regard to the population dynamics of the stock and any
environmental factors that influence the stock.”
Nb: No more qualifying factors e.g. economic factors in
determining the level of stocks, cf 1983 (but see relevant
consideration: s 13(3) for way and rate of movement)
29

30. Total Allowable Catch -S 13 continued
13 (2) “The Minister shall set a total allowable catch that-
(b ) Enables the level of any stock whose current level is below that
which can produce maximum sustainable yield to be altered-
(i) In a way and at a rate that will result in the stock being restored
to or above a level that can produce the maximum sustainable yield,
having regard to the interdependence of stocks; and
(ii) Within a period appropriate to the stock, having regard to the
biological characteristics of the stock and any environmental
conditions affecting the stock; or
(c) Enables the level of any stock whose current level is above that
which can produce the maximum sustainable yield to be altered in a
way and at a rate that will result in the stock moving towards or
above a level that can produce the maximum sustainable yield,
having regard to the interdependence of stocks.
30

31. Fisheries listed
Dredge oyster (Foveaux
by the Ministry
of Fisheries as
Strait)
having 40 – 60 OYU5
% probability of Orange Roughy:
being depleted.
ORH2A south, ORH2B,
ORH3A - Mid East Coast,
ORH3B East and South
Chatham Rise
Rock lobster
CRA3 Gisborne
31

32. Fisheries listed by the Ministry of Fisheries as
having > 90 % probability of being depleted
Orange Roughy
ORH7A Challenger Plateau
Snapper
SNA8
Southern bluefin tuna
STN1 / Southern Hemisphere Stock
32

33. Fisheries listed by the Ministry of Fisheries as
having > 60 % probability of being depleted
Black cardinalfish Paua
CDL2, CDL3, CDL4 PAU7
Orange Roughy Rig
ORH1 Mercury-Colville, SPO7
ORH3B Northwest Scallop
Chatham Rise, ORH3B Bigeye tuna
Puysegur, ORH7B West
Coast South Island Western & Central Pacific
Ocean BIG1 CA7
Tasman Bay
33

34. Orange Roughy Quota Areas
34

35. Orange roughy fisheries
Chatham Rise (NE)
Chatham Rise (NW)
Mid East coast
Challenger
Cook Canyon
Puysegur
East Cape
Mercury-Colville
35

36. Source: Malcolm Clark, NIWA. 2003 data
NE Chatham Rise NW Chatham Rise S Chatham Rise
100 t 100 100
t
ccc
cc e
Biomass (percentage of virgin)
t ct
ct c
t t c a
30 ccc
tt c 30 a 30
0 0 0
1980 1990 2000 1980 1990 2000 1980 1990 2000
Mid-East Coast Challenger Cook Canyon
ccc cc cc
100 c cc 100 100
c c
c cc cccc
tcc
30 etcccc a
t 30
cccccccccccc
30 cc ccc c
ccc c cc
0 0 0
1980 1990 2000 1980 1990 2000 1980 1990 2000
Puysegur East Cape Mercury-Colville
tc c t
100 100 100 cc
tc cc
t c
c c
30 c 30 ccccc 30
t c
t
0 0 0
1980 1990 2000 1980 1990 2000 1980 1990 2000
36

37. State of Orange Roughy Stocks 2003:
Bmsy is 30% of the original biomass, Bo
Fishery % Bo* (Bo Current Estimated
= Initial limit Yield (tonnes)
Biomass) (tonnes)
ORH 1 unknown 1370 Unknown
Mercury-Colville 10-15 30 16 to 29
Box
East Cape 25 200 370
East Coast North 11 800 750
Isld
NW Chathams 21-44 2000 930-2600
NE & E Chathams 34-54 7000 7800-11800
South Rise 24 1400 1540
Puysegur 7 Closed 90-340
Southern areas Unknown 1300 Unknown
Challenger 3 Closed 220
WC South Isld 12 110 120
* Footnote: 30% is Bmsy
Source: Annala et al 2003
37

38. Considerations of way and rate
of movement to Bmsy: S13(3)
13(3) In considering the way in which
and rate at which a stock is
moved towards or above a level
that can produce maximum
sustainable yield under paragraph
(b) or paragraph (c) of subsection
(2) of this section, the Minister
shall have regard to such social,
cultural, and economic factors as
he or she considers relevant.
Nb: Does not mandate
movement to further below
Bmsy
38

39. Fishing Impacts –
Trawl fisheries – especially bottom trawl –
– Destroy habitat, seafloor communities.- Massive
tonnages of gorgonian corals, hydroids, coraline
organisms, etc crushed on seamounts, “black smokers”
, sensitive soft & hard sediment environments.
– Marine mammal, bird drownings and other deaths
39

40. Seamounts
targeted for
orange roughy
and oreos
marked in red
40

41. Impact of
bottom
trawling:
UN Gen
Assembly
resolutions
on control
of
damaging
fishing
methods.
Photos: Greenpeace 41

42. Seamount
corals
Destroyed by bottom
trawling
42

43. Benthic Protected
Areas – proposed
by the fishing
industry to exclude
trawling from 30%
of the NZ EEZ.
Accepted by
Minister. “Bogus”
Protection –
biodiversity
protection is
markedly less than
if areas randomly
chosen –
Leathwick, NIWA. 43

44. Hoki fishery:
– annually 700-
1500 fur seals
drowned
Hoki & Squid fisheries
– Hundreds of
petrel and
albatross drown.
Squid Fishery,
Auckland islands –
NZ sealions
“threatened”
species - drown
and die from
battering– Industry
sued to be allowed
to kill hundreds.
Albatross and
Petrel populations
in serious decline
globally, much
attributed to fishing
impacts
44

45. Sea lion by-kill in squid fishery –
118 caught one year
45

46. Hoki fishery
The hoki fishery: represented by Hoki Fishery
Management Company. East and West stocks.
2001, TACC 250,000t annually from two stocks
managed as one and fished during spawning.
2001, against the advice of environmental organisations,
was awarded Marine Stewardship Certification.
2002 TACC reduced (inadequately) to 220,000 tonnes.
In 2003 TACC 180,00t - the industry could only catch
150,000 tonnes
2004 TACC cut to 100,000 tonnes, a 60% reduction in
just 4 years.
October 2007 TACC cut to 90,000 tonnes. Stock may be
recovering?
Catch limits mostly have followed decline, not prevented
decline.
46

47. Hoki stocks decline
60% quota cuts in 4 years
47

48. Consumer Preferences & certification – the
MSC
Attempts to provide incentives for industry to improve
environmental performance, overcome information
asymmetry with consumer assurance schemes.
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) - BUT
– Incentive on players to devalue the currency;
– Certification of fisheries with dubious environmental practices –
eg hoki fishery, despite large stock and (lagged) catch limit
declines; marine mammal and seabird deaths etc.
– Environmental group appeals – but rules changed to make
financial barriers to future appeals.
MFish considering trying to get entire NZ Fisheries
certified – devalues the currency for certification holders.
48

49. Recent history
The fishing industry took the Minister of Fisheries to court over his decision
to cut the orange roughy quota in the north from 1400 tonnes to 800 tonnes.
Environmental organisations consider greater cuts were warranted.
This fishery involves management where operators have exceeded area
limits and have been successfully prosecuted for mis-reporting.
The Minister decided he would not win the case and settled but in 2007
attempted to have the Fisheries Act s10 changed to clearly state the
Precautionary Principle.
Strident industry opposition blocked this. The Bill failed.
In 2008 Parliament passed a bill reputedly drafted by the fishing industry
lawyers to allow the Minister to adjust TAC and TACCs on extremely limited
information. Attempts to have this only apply to precautionary reductions of
TACC failed.
In Sept 2008 the fishing industry took legal action to block protection of the
inshore Hector’s and Maui dolphins – the worlds smallest and rarest marine
dolphin. An injunction followed against the exclusion of fishing from the
range of these animals.
49

50. Property rights: NZ Experience,
Summary
Property rights did not remove the incentives to “mine” a
resource and to use the proceeds elsewhere.
Since associated sea-floor (benthic) species are often
slow growing and of non-market value, there is no
incentive for fishers to look after the host environment.
Property rights did diminish the “race to fish” and
alleviate “capital stuffing” – more efficient harvesting.
There has been strong concentration of ownership of
quota, a removal of small players, these replaced by
larger, lower cost-per-unit vessels.
90% of fish exported, about $1.2bn annual earnings.
50

51. The New Zealand Experience
The New Zealand experience with the QMS and
ITQs is that quota ownership:
– Has concentrated ownership of vessels in large
companies, reduced over-capacity, enhanced
financial benefits to fishers, especially “beneficiaries
of first round grand-parented allocations.
– Has seen decline of numbers of small-owner
operators and the communities from where they
fished.
– Has not protected the medium-low productivity
species – these have been “mined”, especially deep
water species
– Has not protected the environment;
– Has enhanced the power of major commercial fishers.
51

52. Externalisation of costs, Special interest
effects
Strong incentives to externalise costs – ie no incentive to
harm environment less.
So need:
Need regulations and incentives to choose less
damaging methods
The onus of proof should be on those causing harm.
Clarity over the obligation to protect the environment
over continued use – change to the Purpose.
Clarity and priority over social benefit and rights.
Precautionary principle.
Ecosystem Based management.
Integrity of information is crucial; Implications for who
does and commissions research.
Catch limit setting and enforcing.
52

53. NZ Fisheries management system
evolution, issues and problems
Stock declines during QMS & industry-driven adaptive management.
“High-grading” (disposal of lower value fish at sea) is incentivised.
Issue of ITQs as:
– absolute tonnage puts fiscal burden on public authorities.
– % share of TACC shifts risk, encourages resistance to lowering TACCs.
No Environmental or social Impact Assessment s.
Environmental standards in preparation but fragile?
Dangerous practice of managing as one stock several stocks or mixed
species (eg two hoki stocks, oreo mixes).
Inclusion of stakeholders – but some are “more equal” than others. Cosy
industry-ministry relations = capture. Exclusion of the public.
Non-integration of fisheries management by stock-focused management.
Fisheries management planning – stop start and scaled back.
Marine mammal deaths on-going – protection opposed by industry eg case
re Hectors and Maui dolphins.
Opposition to precautionary principle in s10.
Lack of information used to maintain excessive TACCs, while opposing
research funding to pay for it. Need: “No data? No fish!” rule.
53

54. NZ Fisheries management system evolution,
issues and problems
Resource rentals replaced with cost recovery
Conceptually different –
– Resource Rentals - payment to owner for scarce resource
– Cost recovery – for management, research etc - approx 60%
total Min Fish budget and eroding fast.
– Cost recovery a potent instrument of industry influence on the
Ministry of Fisheries and Department of Conservation
No support to non-extractive users or others’
participation.
Pressure for spatial management is being used as a
basis for fishers taking spatial property rights.
Resistance to environmental research, protection
measures, marine reserves. No incentives to reduce
impacts on environment.
Groundwork being done to devolve fisheries
management to industry. 54

55. Effects of QMS in NZ
ITQs in combination with “cost recovery” has
distorted perceptions of the legitimacy of quota
owners compared to recreational fishers, the
environment, the other non-extractive values
and uses of the environment.
Has allowed quota owners to invest un-captured
resource rentals into influencing officials and
politicians and so to have a disproportionate
voice and to engineering the evolution of
institutions to further enhance their power and
control and to marginalise other interests.
55

56. NZ Experience continued
NZ Expanded capacity from inshore to deep water
fishing, to distant water fleet.
As deepwater stocks in the EEZ have been fished, our
over-capacity has migrated out of the EEZ to the Indian
Ocean, the Tasman Sea, the Southern Ocean, the South
Pacific and around South America and Southern Africa
and elsewhere in the high seas.
High oil costs intermittently damp spatial expansion as
stocks decline. One tonne fish requires half- one tonne
fuel. Fast growing GHG emissions.
NZ companies threaten to reflag to other countries if NZ
rules are strong – Sealords registered vessel in the Cook
Islands.
56

57. NZ Experience continued
NZ Vessels do 90-95% of the bottom trawling in the
South Pacific.
NZ, Australia and Chile initiated the negotiation of the
South Pacific Regional Fisheries management
organisation (SPRFMO) in response to UNGA 2006
Resolution in respect of damaging bottom-fishing
methods.
Cook Islands and Vanuatu operate open registers for
vessels – flags of convenience.
2009 National-led government embarking on
international fisheries access policy especially to the
South Pacific.
New Zealand has done little to control damaging fishing
methods in NZ managed areas. 57

58. Lessons from NZ Experience
Myth of “success” of NZ QMS – stock figures during
QMS do not show success.
Financially rewards first round quota recipients.
Myth of environmental commitment of NZ fishing industry
– Reality has been vociferous and ferocious opposition to
environmental protection
Law suit against seamounts closures though only 19 of 800
Law suit to overturn protection of critically endangered Maui’s
dolphins & many other law suits against environmental measures.
Advertisements equating seals with pests
Opposition to environmental protective measures & research.
– Attempts to quell scientists who speak plainly about the
implications of their research.
– Environmental protection measures are slow to appear,
compromised by industry influence.
58

59. Lessons
Quantity limits are very important: necessary, but not sufficient.
Must be coupled with strong and enforced environmental standards;
Research, catch limits and controls must be set independently of
fisher pressure.
Neither theory nor evidence support notion that property rights will
necessarily engender protection of the environment or of fish stocks.
If natural assets can be liquidated at a profit – they will be.
Institutional forms and who makes decisions on catch limits, how
payment is made, levers of influence on players is crucial.
Inclusion of the public and support for non-commercial participation
in decision making is crucial.
Devolution of fisheries management to industry interests will fail to
protect the environment and fish stocks.
Regime of setting standards and then allowing industry to meet
them is likely to be compromised by dispute over management
objectives, capture of bureaucracy and/or ministers, distortions of
decision making due to power and influence rather than social
objectives.
59

60. So who is doing what about this?
Environmental groups like The UN has demanded
ECO, Greenpeace, F&B are and resolved that
taking action, giving “voice”, damaging fishing
demanding change. methods must be
Citizens like you are helping controlled.
them and speaking out. IUCN is calling for far
Supermarket chains in the more and better designed
USA, UK, Canada are refusing marine protected areas.
to stock orange roughy, and The Marine Stewardship
other trawl caught fish & Council is helping
toothfish. companies and countries
Consumers like us are asking to greenwash their
retailers to stop stocking fisheries.
unsustainably caught fish. So is the NZ government.
60

61. So what can we do?
What we can do: Do some research
Use the Best Fish Guide Write and speak up.
Ask our supermarkets to • Write a letter
stop stocking bottom Write a letter to the
trawled fish like orange paper, to an MP.
roughy, ling, hoki. Write an essay or a thesis
Email your MP asking Hold a showing of End of
them to take action. the Line.
Support ECO or some DON’T Get taken in by
other environmental the MSC and NZ claims
group. of success.
www.eco.org.nz
61