Town’s plight hinges on fishing quota scheme

Press, 18 December 1985, Page 50

Town’s plight hinges on fishing quota scheme

By

Robert Brewer

Some Kaikoura residents fear for their jobs, their way of life, and their community’s continued prosperity. The town’s plight hinges on the introduction of the Government’s fishing quota scheme. Individual transferrable quotas, or LT.Q.s as the scheme is better known, is an attempt to manage dwindling stocks of certain finfish species by limiting the amount any one fisherman can catch.

Unfortunately for Kaikoura, I.T.Q.S will mean a loss of livelihood for the fishermen, the town’s two irocessing companies, and he business community.

An assistant director of the Fisheries Management Division, Mr Ray Dobson, has said some fishermen are joing to “go broke” under he new system.

“Some of the smaller fishermen will not be able to carry on as they presently are — but that was »oing to happen anyway," le said. “The problem is not I.T.Q.S, but overfishing.”

Paul Searell has been fishing out of Kaikoura for five seasons, is a member of Kaikoura’s Fishing Association and an industry representative of the Federation of Commercial Fishermen. “I can see three or four boats going immediately once the I.T.Q.S come in,” he said.

The cold reality is that Mr Searell will probably have to lay off his crewman to make ends meet.

“Maybe I will get away

with taking on a boy instead of an experienced crew — you pay a good crewman 25 per cent, but a boy only costs you 15. “Those are the hard facts of life. Last year I grossed $113,000; after I had paid all my expenses I had netted $17,000.” Mr Searell’s is not an isolated case, but he is quick to emphasise that fishermen know something has to be done to conserve fish resources. “We supported the idea of I.T.Q.S in principle — but not in practice. “I mean some of the cuts they have asked us to take are ridiculous. For instance, we have been asked to cut back on 40 per cent of our groper take.” Although angry about apparent inequalities in a system that allows a fisherman who has abused the fishing resource a bigger share of future catches, Mr Searell does not argue about all of the cuts. “You won’t find one fisherman in Kaikoura complaining about the cuts in rig — we all realise rig is a problem and are quite prepared to take the drop in tonnage to let it recover,” he said. But if the fishermen are hurt, so will the town’s biggest employers, the two processing companies, Virgo and Wairau Fisheries. Virgo Fisheries employs about 35 people throughout the year, while Wairau Fisheries takes on about 15, plus casuals, during the fishing season. Under the new scheme,

fishermen who leave the industry or who voluntarily reduce their catch will receive compensation from the Government. The processors, however, will receive nothing. The manager of Wairau Fisheries, Mr Joe di Mattina, puts the situation like this: “I get telephone calls just about every day from kids wanting work. When we are going well I can take a lot of them on, to cope with the big season, but when LT.Q.s come in there won’t be any big season.” When asked what the company that employs him would do to economise, Mr di Mattina’s reply was short and to the point: “They would get rid of staff — probably me.” Virgo Fisheries’ assistant manager, Mr Alan Aiderman, tells much the same story. “I would say we are looking at a 60 per cent loss of fish throughput — I think you can say that this would be translated to staffing levels,” he said. . Mr Dobson admits the Kssors will not be buffrom a drop in income. He said, however, that processors must diversify to cover themselves. “The Government feels that the capacity for the processors to change is greater than the average inshore fisherman. Use of their (the processors’) coolstore facilities for storage of horticultural and agricultural produce would be one way round a drop in fish

tonnage.” Mr Dobson says that apart from this there are lucrative returns to be had from deep-water fisheries and he urges processors and fishermen alike to take advantage of these. Both of Kaikoura’s processors agree that the money does indeed lie in deep-water fishing. In fact, Kaikoura is the closest port to an area called the Mernoo Bank, which is known to be a good fishing ground for deep-water species such as the lucrative orange roughy. Being there and getting there are, however, two different matters.

Kaikoura’s representative on the Marlborough Harbour Board, Mr Jim Abernethy, says the harbour is simply not safe enough for the size of boat required to fish the Mernoo Bank.

“The blows in May were a good example of what can happen,” he said.

Thirteen boats were wrecked during those storms, including the 75ft Pania recently bought by Virgo Fisheries to fish for orange roughy.

Mr Abernethy has been trying for five years to convince the Harbour Board that Kaikoura needs a breakwater to protect it from storms.

“The project would cost millions of dollars and is the only way we could hope to protect the bigger boats from the storms we get.”

Kaikoura’s Business Association’s president and a county councillor, Mr Mike Bassett, puts a dif-

ferent light on what could happen with I.T.Q.S. “There has got to be a loss of income,” he said. “More than $6 million came across the wharf last year. That money has an effect on the entire community.”

He fears that a chain reaction could start if the loss of income is too great, with people leaving the area, a dropping of school rolls, and a loss of teachers.

“We have no alternative employment for people. They will just pack their bags and go.” Objections by fishermen up and down the country have caused the Government to delay the introduction of I.T.Q.S from October this year until April, 1986. Already, because of further pressure from industry delegates, there have been increases in the amount fishermen can catch of certain finfish species — and the review process is continuing. The feeling in Kaikoura is that the quota scheme as it stands will not go ahead. Mr di Mattina says why. “There is just too much opposition and too many people are going to be affected.”

So, just like Kaikoura, the future of I.T.Q.S hangs in the balance. Mr Dobson is realistic about the scheme’s survival.

“There is no doubt they will work if the industry wants them to work — there is no doubt I.T.Q.S

won’t work if the industry does not want them to.”