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Fisheries management and participation 

The following are extracts from a speech made by Phil Heatley, Minister of Fisheries to the annual conference of the Recreational Fishing Council on July 30 2010.

"When your organisers invited me to talk to you today, they asked me to reflect on how I see recreational participation in fisheries management.At question time I'd like to ask how you see it. There's now a new engagement model - I encourage you to use it effectively; to take part and have your say........

I'd like to take this opportunity to assure you that the Government and the Ministry will work constructively to accommodate and support the sector as much as we practically can.We'll do this in the context of Fisheries 2030 with a "better and less" approach.

By that I mean especially "better and less" demands on your time as committed volunteers, as well as "better and less" regulation.

Engagement

I do have a personal view of recreational participation. Personally I've been engaging with the recreational sector in quite a different way to previous Ministers. Not necessarily better, just differently and its been very helpful to me.The new approach which involves bringing together groups of experts to consider particular issues is quite informative for me.

Engagement Example Number One - Recreational Charter Vessel Reporting Group

One of National's fisheries policies was to support charter vessels operations to develop a catch reporting system, to improve our overall knowledge of recreational catches.

I received a briefing from the Ministry of Fisheries outlining options for amateur catch reporting in early 2009.In order to assess the proposal I decided I wanted to convene an expert group from the recreational sector. After all - they are out on the water - they are wet - they're busy and they have clients to look after.

I discussed potential members with my Ministry and then contacted the group.

On 3 June we flew them to Wellington to meet - then they met with me for a few hours to thrash out the issues. It was a free and frank meeting!

The group consisted of:-

Barry Bird - Seabird Charters (Nelson)

Brett Rathe - Assassin Fishing Charters (Warkworth)

Peter Saul - Lady Jess Charters (Whangarei)

Keith Ingram - Fishing Editor / recreational representative

Richard Baker - NZ Sport Fishing Council President

The result was constructive feedback on the options originally given to me in the Final Advice Paper provided by the Ministry.As a result of the feedback the Ministry amended many of the proposals, including reducing the cost of registration.

As a result of the discussion with the group I made it clear to the Ministry that recreational charter reporting should be simple for operation, and that any information obtained (ie location of prized fishing spots) would be strictly confidential, as for commercial fishers.

The Ministry is now developing a reporting form and is testing this with fishers. It also has a dedicated email address to answer any questions.The aim is to ensure that fishers are well informed for the 1 October 2010 implementation date.

Click Here for link to the Mfish website and further detailed info on recreational forums and supplementary information.

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