Fishermen back bid to ease 12-mile enforcement

The inshore commercial fishing industry hopes a change of the rules at Maritime New Zealand will save it time and money and allow better access to valuable migratory species.

Maritime NZ is half-way through a two-year review of qualifications and operational limits for commercial and recreational boat operators.

It has been speaking to the maritime community, and is now working on a new framework that will be released for consultation later this year.

One of the aspects under consideration is making it easier for commercial fisherman to operate outside the 12 nautical mile zone from the coast, to which many in the industry find themselves limited.

It is hoped changes would allow fisherman to operate to 100 nautical miles, the Motueka-based Federation of Commercial Fishermen president Doug Saunders-Loder said.

Where fishermen can operate depends on their level of qualification.

"It creates a bit frustration with the inshore guys particularly," Mr Saunders-Loder said.

"It's actually an interesting situation because a large number of people who have tickets or manning qualifications to allow them to fish within 12 miles don't actually find themselves going out of it necessarily.

"The problem is the minute they do they are immediately under the spotlight, and that's where we find it a nonsense.

"The reality is these guys could fish fish quite suitably, and in an ultimately safe manner, from 12 miles to 100 miles. There shouldn't be a lot of difference."

Mr Saunders-Loder said in the past fishermen could obtain a coastal ticket that allowed them out to 100 miles, but some years ago it was pulled for those entering the industry, forcing them to go through a "convoluted process" if they wanted to go outside 12 miles.

"So we've got a whole lot of fishermen out there that we might like to upskill and tell them go along and go and do their New Zealand offshore masters or the equivalent coastal ticket, but they have to take 13 weeks off work, they have to go to college in Nelson, or polytech throughout New Zealand that provides that service."

As it was a statutory qualification as opposed to a unit standard, they were unable to receive government funding.

Mr Saunders-Loder said that last year a crayfisherman who wanted to get an advanced ticket missed half the season and had to pay someone to run his vessel while he studied.

While being able to fish out to 100 miles would not open up new fisheries, it would make it easier to catch albacore tuna, which migrates to New Zealand waters once a year and can be found out to 100 miles from the coast.

Commercial vessels were generally surveyed for their suitability to operate at 100 miles, meaning a change in the rules would not adversely affect safety, he said.

"The fishing industry is head and shoulders above any primary production industry in terms of fulfilling its safety obligations."

As part of the review, more than 400 people were interviewed and Mr Saunders-Loder said it was a positive sign that Maritime NZ was engaging the fishing community and appearing to take their concerns seriously.

Any rule changes are likely to be announced next March.

- © Fairfax NZ News