Special rules made for lobster fishery

Press, 5 April 1989, Page 3

Special rules made for lobster fishery

Special interim arrangements have had to be made to cater for the rock lobster fishery by the parties negotiating Maori fisheries claims. In its submission on the interim arrangement, the Crown said the rock lobster fishery was not safe. Fishing effort and fish mortality were both too high, stock had declined below the optimum level, and present rock lobster catches were not sustainable. If the fishery continued unmanaged then returns would diminish seriously and stock would continue to decline, the submission said. Rock lobster had had to be addressed as part of an interim settlement. Over recent weeks the Crown, Maori and fishing industry negotiators had tried to find a compromise. Subject to it being understood that this was without prejudice, the Crown proposed a four-part quota management system with a fixed term, in its submission. This was:— • A total allowable catch would be set at a level which would protect rock lobster stocks.

• All quotas would be allocated by the Crown pending resolution of the fundamental nature of Maori fishing rights. • The Crown would make available quotas to fishers on the basis of their catch histories and to Maoris in accord with the interim arrangement applying to existing quota. • Fishers would receive an entitlement to fish a specified amount of rock lobster each year for a fixed term of 25 years. This interim arrangement represented a compromise which the Crown believed addressed the principal concerns of the parties. The submission said the arrangement provided for good management by placing a fixed upper limit on the amount of rock lobster that could be caught each year. This upper limit could be set at a level which could ensure stock sustainability. It provided a way for rock lobster fishers to leave and receive a return for the business they had built up, the submission said.