THE PRESS SATURDAY, JULY 29, 1989. Better fisheries research

Press, 29 July 1989, Page 20

THE PRESS SATURDAY, JULY 29, 1989. Better fisheries research

Few sea-girt countries in the developed world pay as little regard to the study of the surrounding ocean as does New Zealand. The Exclusive Economic Zone entrusted to New Zealand covers 3.1 million square kilometres, about a third of the size of the United States and one of the largest E.E.Z.S in the world. The fish in the waters off our coast attract the world’s most efficient fleets, yet knowledge of the stocks available and of the level of ' safe harvesting is vague. The Government’s attempts at a fisheries management policy presuppose an accurate, on-going assessment of commercial fish stocks, but reliable information simply is not, available. The Budget decision to spend $32 million over the next three years on the purchase of a new fisheries research vessel and on charters of commercial vessels for research work is a welcome, though belated and inadequate attempt to remedy this failing. New Zealand’s commitment to fisheries research was never strong; but the country once had three hard-working vessels engaged in this work. The small Kahaora was never suited to more than inshore surveys. In May, 1983, the Government decided to decommission the W. J. Scott, and that ship has never been replaced. A couple of years ago a decision was made to replace the ageing James Cook with a specialised deepwater research ship. Before the Supplementary Estimates containing the necessary approval to spend the money reached Parliament, the item was axed in a cost-cutting attempt to achieve the Government’s promise of a Budget surplus. The new allocation is hardly generous.

About one-third of the total, $ll million, will be spent this year on research charters and the initial stages of buying a new vessel. In return, of course, the Government will make almost $4O million from the sale of annual quotas and fish resource licences. The Government will more than recoup in licence and quota receipts this year the whole research allocation for the next three years. This year’s research effort, made possible by the increased allocation, will be on five deepwater charters concentrating on the orange roughy and hoki fisheries. In 1986 alone, the Government netted $76 million that had not been budgeted for from the sale of extra hoki and orange roughy quotas. The fact that the new allocation is the largest, one-off injection of cash ever provided for fisheries research is hardly a matter for pride; it simply shows how remiss we have been in the past. Exports of wetfish alone, not counting the rich returns from crayfish, oysters, or squid, earn New Zealand more than $3OO million a year, so the country has been getting a good return for the frugal outlay on fisheries research. To rely on occasional charters, or on rides hitched aboard foreign fishing vessels, to increase our understanding of the resources off our shores never qualified as a serious attempt to develop or manage New Zealand’s fisheries for the benefit of New Zealand. The renewed support for fisheries research will go some way towards getting more accurate estimates of fish stocks and sustainable yields. This should mean improved management of fisheries in accord with our obligation to monitor, conserve and allocate stocks efficiently and on the best possible information.