Hoki quota increased

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Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley has increased commercial fishing limits for hoki for the first time in 13 years, putting another $29 million into industry pockets.

Mr Heatley announced a 20,000 tonne increase in the total allowable catch for hoki, New Zealand's largest finfish export.

Fears for the sustainability of the west coast stock of hoki had underpinned cuts to the catch limit since 2001, bringing it down to 90,000 tonnes last season.

The latest increase will allow an extra 22 per cent take for the valuable species, but Mr Heatley said he was still unsure about the population's viability.   

 Science from the Ministry of Fisheries indicated a larger increased would have been justifiable but the minister said he preferred to be prudent.

"I am taking a cautious approach to make sure we keep the stock at target levels over the long term."

The hoki catch limit was 250,000 tonnes in 1996 but was gradually reduced from 2001 to allow the fishery to rebuild.

"The reductions in catch over the last seven years have come at significant cost to the fishing industry and the economy but this careful management is now paying dividends," Mr Heatley said.

"We will continue to monitor the hoki fishery closely to make sure we keep the fishery within the target range."

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TP   #1   02:08 pm Sep 29 2009

Just a note, Hoki is closer to Dorkey in pronunciation than Dokey.

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