Fishermen face more competition

Press, 13 March 1985, Page 26

Fishermen face more competition

PA Wellington Exporters can expect a reduced supply of many traditional fish species, says the chairman of the Fishing Industry Board, Mr Mark Hinchliff. Speaking at the Fish Exporters’ conference at Wairakei, Mr Hinchliff said that all sectors of the industry, not just fishermen, would be affected by Government proposals to reduce the total catch of many species. “This will mean increased competition for the landed catch at every level, and some hardship will be inevitable,” he said.

The biggest problem facing the industry today was rationalisation of effort in inshore fisheries. Rationalisation would be necessary because fish were being caught at too high a level to sustain basic fish stocks.

To compete successfully for diminishing resources, the industry had become over-capitalised in recent years. The proposed policy of the Ministry of Fisheries for future management of inshore fisheries would put an end to this “pernicious cycle.” The proposal would safeguard resources and the right of individual fishermen to earn a reasonable

living. Under the proposed scheme, the total allowable catch would be set for several species. Fishermen would be allocated a quota which they would be free to catch, sell, lease or trade. There were legitimate industry concerns about some aspects of the proposed scheme, he said. Problems that needed resolving included concern over the total allowable catches set for several species, the possibility of monopoly aggregation of quotas by big companies, the level and availability of compensation for displaced fishermen, and for processing plants disadvantaged by reduced catches.

Although the complexities of administering the scheme still needed to be satisfactorily resolved, the board was confident the system would lead to biological and ecomomic stability in inshore fisheries, Mr Hinchliff said.

The industry would look forward to improved utilisation of its most valuable resources, and to a high level of prosperity. In the transitional period, the industry would have to do all it could to avoid unnecessary hardship, and exporters would continue to play a key role in this, he said.