Fish industry wary of high-sea restrictions

More than 112,000 square kilometres of previously fished areas in the South Pacific will be closed to New Zealand deep-sea fishermen under new regulations.

But the New Zealand industry says domestic fishermen will be left out in the cold unless all fishing countries comply with the new interim international measures to manage high-seas bottom-trawling.

The measures, introduced by the Ministry of Fisheries as part of negotiations to form the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation, are designed to ensure trawling does not increase.

The new rules will require that vessels carry fisheries observers, create a "move-on" area of more than 82,000sq km to protect marine ecosystems and limit fishing to areas trawled between 2002 and 2006.

Talley's Fisheries director Andrew Talley said the more important issue was bringing other countries into line.

"There are hundreds of boats fishing in the South Pacific that are unregulated and that go unreported, particularly out of Asia," he said.

New Zealand fishermen supported any mechanism which maintained sustainable fish stocks.

"But we don't want to see New Zealand fishermen stranded while those from (other) countries continue to fish outside the zones."

The answer was not a free-for-all, but a question of balance.

Some of the proposed measures, such as the requirement for every vessel to carry an observer, were unworkable.

"Observers cost $1100 a day and there will be many boats which cannot afford this and will remain tied up," Talley said.

The industry was in talks with the ministry over the measures which would "change and adapt over the next few years", he said.

New Zealand Seafood Industry Council chief executive Owen Symmans said the measures were crude, costly and would limit high-seas fishing opportunities near New Zealand.

The industry supported the negotiations, but had yet to see detail on the measures other fishing countries had to meet.

"The industry will be angry if others who fish in our back pond don't have to meet similar restrictions of their freedom to fish," Symmans said. "The New Zealand Government is expecting us to pay a high price to be responsible high-seas fishers and we need to be assured we are not alone."

Ministry chief executive Wayne McNee said the measures protected vulnerable marine ecosystems by focusing trawling on areas already likely to be significantly affected.

New Zealand's South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation bottom trawling footprint was restricted to areas fished between 2002 and 2006.

McNee said there would be some financial impact on the industry but significant fishing grounds were still available.

All measures would be reviewed in 2010.

- © Fairfax NZ News