Moves to cut fish catches

Press, 27 April 1984, Page 2

Moves to cut fish catches

PA Wellington Moves aimed at reducing commercial fish catches were announced yesterday by the Minister of Fisheries, Mr Maclntyre. Mr Maclntyre said the Solander Corridor, west of Stewart Island, would be closed to both Japanese and Russian licensed trawlers and bottom longliners, and arrangements » were being made to exclude Korean boats as well. While an exact date for the closing had not been decided, it was hoped the corridor would be closed by the end of the year, Mr Maclntyre said, in an address to the annual conference of the Federation of Commercial Fishermen, at Napier. Notice would be given to foreign nations of the decision, he said. All New Zealand-regis-tered trawlers and bottom liners, both chartered and domestically owned, would be excluded from a smaller area. Licensed chartered and domestic vessels for tuna longlining, squid jigging or finfish, and tuna purse seining would be allowed to continue using the channel as at present. In another move, Mr Maclntyre said six areas — Auckland, Hastings, Nelson, Dunedin, the Kermadecs and the deep south — had been gazetted this week as fishery management areas. These would be under the control of fishery management committees which would formulate management plans taking into account l*al interests.