Firm quizzes new fish deals

Press, 17 June 1986, Page 24

Firm quizzes new fish deals

PA Nelson Sealord Products, Ltd, delighted with its research quota of 1120 tonnes of orange roughy, has nevertheless questioned the decision to increase the national quota nearly 10 per cent for research purposes. The chief executive of the Nelson-based company, Mr Graham France, said the new deal would mean about $3 million to his firm. But he raid the research deals, which cover a total of 4320 tonnes of the prized export fish for deepwater charter surveys, "raise some questions, in my mind at least.” As well as Sealord's 1120 tonnes, two parcels of 1600 tonnes have been granted to Fletcher Fishing Ltd, Dunedin. The total national quota for the year was 46,000 tonnes before the research allocations were awarded.

“They have added about 10 per cent of the normal quota,” Mr France raid.

“It really does make you wonder ... it does seem peculiar that they can increase it 10 per cent without being concerned about overfishing.”

The Ministry of Fisheries’ scientist-in-charge of deepwater fisheries, Dr Don Robertson, raid Mr France’s question was "a curly one.” The Ministry did not have its own deepwater research vessel.

“We’ve got to manage the deepwater fishery and it’s extremely difficult to do it when we don’t have the right facilities,” Dr Robertson raid.

“The only way we can get access is to charter commercial vessels, and the only currency we have got is a quota of fish.”

Dr Robertson said there was “a certain in-built conservatism” in the Ministry’s quota setting, and also a surplus built into fish population estimates.

“You can take the socalled surplus off down to a particular level, and as long as you’re fishing above that, the population is still safe,” he raid.

“It’s a risk — but the other risk is doing no research and having complete ignorance about the thing.”

Sealord’s largest vessel, the 550-ton Arrow, will begin the 28-day charter voyage on July 1.

The task will be to survey the Challenger Plateau, doing patterned

tows over selected areas. Results will tell the Ministry what the orange roughy population is in the area, information which will be used to set future quotas. The exercise, said Mr France, was “very much a gamble.” If the catch was very poor, the ship would need to be sent out again to fill the research quota. The charters were awarded by tender. Fletchers will survey the Chatham Rise and the east coast of the North Island. Sealord pioneered orange roughy fishing off the Wairarapa and Kaikoura coasts, discovering commercial stocks and fishing them. “We feel somewhat aggrieved that we’ve been largely legislated out of those areas,” Mr France said.

But he raid he was delighted with the research allocation, which has added considerably to Sealord’s previous quota of 8334 tonnes.

“It certainly gives us access to more fish, and it gives the industry access to more information about fish stocks. If they find more commercial quantities, the T.A.C. (total allowable catch) could be increased.”