Fishing findings under scrutiny

BY NICK CHURCHOUSE

Commercial fishing practices have been endorsed in new international research but Forest and Bird say the science is selective and "unrealistic".

Fisheries Ministry chief scientist Pamela Mace was one of 21 international scientists who looked at commercially fished stock around the world and ranked them on fishing pressures and efforts to rebuild depleted stocks.

Alaska and New Zealand received the highest "green" ranking in the research but Dr Mace said it was a relative scale and only looked at "average" fishing pressure levels.

"Average rates are good but we do have issues."

Dr Mace said the research countered the negative portrayal of fisheries around the world with evidence of improvements in fisheries management.

The research was limited to 31 marine areas, mainly in the US, Canada, Australia, Europe and New Zealand, and noted that in some cases overfishing had simply moved to countries with fewer laws and less enforcement.

Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley said the results were "prestigious" and the industry could be proud of itself.

He urged more work on getting maximum value from New Zealand's fisheries, while maintaining sustainable practices and protection of the environment.

Forest and Bird marine conservation advocate Kirstie Knowles welcomed the research but said it excluded key factors relating to sustainable fishing.

"A number of questions have not been addressed."

The research did not ask questions about the environmental impact of fishing methods, which were responsible for seafloor habitat destruction, she said.

Also, only 19 fish stocks were studied in the paper, and if more of New Zealand's 629 commercially fished species had been looked at, the results would have "bleaker and more realistic".

Ms Knowles said she expected orange roughy to be included, but the severely depleted fishery was overlooked.

The ministry and the industry needed to address the holes in the research. "They need to have high information levels [on fish stocks] and put a lot more research into the environmental impacts of fishing," Ms Knowles said.

Dr Mace said the environmental impact of fishing practices was deliberately not part of the research but a fall in fishing pressures worldwide would bring relief.

In general, New Zealand had "success stories" of rebuilding stocks after they had been fished to below sustainable levels, and had a good record of taking action when problems were caused by commercial fishing.

Dr Mace acknowledged that limited resources meant research would never adequately cover the 629 commercial fish stocks in New Zealand.

"We do quite well for our major fisheries. For our other fisheries, the approach is just to manage those more conservatively."

- © Fairfax NZ News