Sanford lobbies to stop salmon management plan

Press, 1 July 1988, Page 3

Sanford lobbies to stop salmon management plan

By

RICHARD CRESSWELL,

fishing reporter

A Timaru fishing company, Sanford (South Island), Ltd, hopes to combine with other fishing companies to stop the salmon management plan announced by the Minister of Fisheries, Mr Moyle, from going ahead. Sanford’s general manager, Mr Eric Barratt, said last evening he hoped the plan, due to be introduced from the new fishing year on October 1, would be stopped. Fishing companies are particularly concerned about the plan to close an area off Banks Peninsula from December to February.

"The closed area is the worst aspect of the (threepart) plan and we want

the decision overturned,” Mr Barratt said. “We are not in the business of catching salmon, but other species.” The two other parts of the plan include surrendering all salmon caught at sea to the Crown and limiting fishing within one nautical mile of rivermouths. “The whole industry would challenge the decision," said Mr Barratt. “Closing whole areas destroys the whole quota system.” Sanford had three trawlers fishing in the area and had caught 1200 tonnes of fish. The total catch in the proposed closed area for all fishing companies came to about 4000 tonnes. “Those vessels fishing

the area will be at risk,” said Mr Barratt. The companies had adopted a responsible attitude to the issue of by-catch. Most salmon caught were taken by commercial salmon farming and not trawlers, he said. The president of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, Mr Roger Knowles, said the group had been lobbying for three years for a solution to the by-catch issue.

The decision by the Minister would encourage groups to release more stock into the main snowfed rivers.

. “It is heartening to see the Minister prepared to act, and now we have the rewards from the hardfought battle.”