Meet the Ministrys new Chief Executive - Ministry of Fisheries

TheBite
News from MFish APRIL 2008
NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE
THE ROLE OF THE ‘OBSERVER’
HONORaRy FISHERy OFFICERS
PHOTOgRaPHy COMPETITION
aLBaTROSS PROTECTION
a WORkINg LIFE MaNagINg
OUR FISHERIES

BACKGROUND
2 TheBite APRIL 2008
I was born in Oamaru and lived on a small farm near
Enfield, just inland from Oamaru. My father (like his father
and his father before him) was a saw miller and a farmer.
As a teenager I have fond memories of fishing for trout and
salmon with my grandfather on the Waitaki River where we
also used to go white baiting and surfcasting for kahawai.
After five years at Waitaki Boys High School I went to Otago
University and studied pharmacy. There, I met my now wife
Jan and after four years of studying pharmacy together we
did a short stint in Christchurch before moving to the UK.
We spent seven years in the UK where we did a lot of
travelling and I ended up managing the dispensing and
clinical services for a hospital pharmacy group in Essex. Our
son Jamie was born in Essex, and when he was two years
old we decided it was time to come home in 1995.
When we returned we moved to Wellington and I started at
PHARMAC in 1995. By 1998 I was General Manager, and
later when PHARMAC became a stand alone Crown Entity I
was appointed as Chief Executive Officer. During my time at
PHARMAC I studied health economics at Tromso in Norway
and post graduate clinical pharmacy at Otago. I also studied
management and leadership at Mt Eliza Business School in
Melbourne, at Oxford University in England and last year at
Stanford Business School in California.
One of my main interests outside of work is motorsport. My
son Jamie races in the national Formula Ford Championship.
I also get down to Tairei Mouth occasionally to go fishing off
the coast with family and friends.
Meet the Ministry’s new
Chief Executive
Early January saw Wayne McNee begin as Chief Executive of the
Ministry of Fisheries, after being appointed to the role by the State
Services Commissioner in November last year. In this issue of the BITE,
Wayne tells us about his background and his brief for managing MFish.
VISION
New Zealand’s marine environment and fisheries resources
are highly valued economically, culturally, recreationally and
environmentally. As the incoming Chief Executive, I will be
focusing on the long-term direction of fisheries management.
This includes considering issues such as oceans policy,
the capability of MFish to achieve its goals and balancing
harvesting, long-term sustainability, and conservation of the
marine ecosystem.
MFish will be working to achieve the Government’s goals
for fisheries. We will be implementing aquaculture reform,
reducing the complexity of the regulatory environment,
implementing customary fisheries policies, improving
the quality of recreational fishing and promoting fisheries
contribution to New Zealand’s economic performance. A key
focus will be to improve the relationships and collaborations
with tangata whenua and fisheries stakeholders.
I will be working closely with the other natural resource
sustainability agencies, the Department of Conservation, the
Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry, to investigate opportunities for closer engagement
and collaboration.
I see great opportunity for MFish to have a leadership role in
sustainable development, even more so than it has already.
The world view on sustainability is changing and MFish will
be part of leading that change in New Zealand.
Lastly, if you see me out and about don’t be a stranger, I’m
new to fisheries and am keen to hear your perspective on the
challenges ahead.

TyPE OF WORK
aNTaRCTICa IS THE MOST FaR-FLUNg dESTINaTION aN MFISH OBSERVER WILL gO. daVE BILTON ENjOyS SOME TIME OFF THE BOaT IN THE ROSS SEa.
The role
of the
‘observer’
Being the eyes and ears on a
fishing boat is how Ministry of
Fisheries Observation officer,
David Bilton, sums up the role
of an ‘observer’. And he says
that means more than just
watching a fishing line drop
in the water while the sun
bounces off the deck.
Observers largely focus on three key areas:
• collecting scientific information on particular fish
• monitoring by-catch of protected species
• checking on compliance of fishing rules
Often, all three areas are covered, so that the time at sea is
utilised in the best possible way.
“This year, we have around fifty-five observers on the books,
spread amongst inshore, deepwater and international
fisheries.”
The last three years has seen more emphasis on inshore
fishing because it is an area identified as requiring more
information.
This includes addressing how protected species such as
Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins and yellow-eyed penguins, fare
during fishing operations.
The wider outlook of the annual observation programme for
2007/2008 otherwise focuses on gathering information on
some of New Zealand’s key fisheries such as orange roughy,
tuna, hoki and squid.
Ultimately, all of the above means the day-to-day role of an
observer often comes down to recording a lot of detailed data,
addressing the make-up of a particular fishery – weighing
them, measuring them, identifying their sex, etc.
The observer programme also sets aside days for key
purposes such as monitoring compliance issues or doing
targeted research for the Department of Conservation.
In addition, New Zealand vessels fishing in international
waters, must adhere to international agreements. In the
CCAMLR fishing zone, for example, (Commission for
the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources),
this involves 100% coverage for all New Zealand vessels
operating in the area.
It’s all information that MFish then utilises for stock analysis
of key species, the setting of Total Allowable Commercial
Catches (TACC) and monitoring wider impacts of fishing on
the environment.
VALUE OF ThE PROGRAMME
The observer programme is the only independent programme
of its kind – therefore the only programme providing an
impartial recording of facts and figures that relate to work
done at sea.
While other observer programmes do operate, they do so
privately and are generally set up by the fishing company to
ensure staff are complying with operational rules.
“We were recording a lot of
data standing in snow, wind
and rain, at minus 15 ˚ C for
up to six hours at a stretch.
you have to be prepared for
a range of conditions.”
APRIL 2008 TheBite 3

4 TheBite APRIL 2008
The observer programme usually arranges the trips before
the observer arrives at a fishing vessel, but the task of getting
onto the small commercial boats can fall to the observer.
With smaller boats, the observer’s negotiating skills with the
skipper is important, particularly when there are difficulties
finding out which boats are active at any time and place. If all
the polite approaches fail then the observer programme has
to turn to the Fisheries Act to get the observer onboard.
COLLECTINg SCIENTIFIC INFORMaTION aNd SaMPLES IS ONE OF
OBSERVERS’ kEy ROLES. THE LaRgEST EXaMPLE OF a COLOSSaL
SqUId CaUgHT IN THE ROSS SEa WaS ONE OF THE MORE
SPECTaCULaR SaMPLES RECORdEd By aN MFISH OBSERVER.
“The good news is that the stigma observers often received
from inshore fishing operators, in particular, is now passing.
They’re beginning to appreciate that we’re not there to
scrutinise their every move, we’re there to safeguard the longterm
viability of fisheries - and we have to gather statistics
and facts to do that.
“I think in general, fishermen respond to observations and
care a lot more than they get credit for. Some of the larger
fishing companies have spent lots of money on improving
seabird mitigation techniques, yet that kind of fact, largely
goes under the radar.”
hOW ThE PROGRAMME OPERATES
Funded solely by levies from the commercial fishing industry,
the programme operates as an independent programme,
based at MFish head office.
With just four observer officers managing all observers around
the country, there is a huge amount of logistical planning
involved.
“We operate on a knife-edge a lot of the time, just waiting
to see what might happen next. It often comes down to
requests for new information or the weather changing, so
boat schedules then change, which in turn impacts the timing
for getting observers across the country and onboard boats.
“It’s the constant juggle of logistics which makes managing
the programme very complex.”
“Just to get observers on our books, they need to go through
an intensive screening programme – looking at how they’ll
likely handle situations at sea, or difficult scenarios, etc –
because there’s nowhere to go once you’re at sea.
“Once they’re accepted, observers then need to go through
a training programme, be fully briefed before each trip, put on
one boat or another, be debriefed afterwards, have their data
processed for analysing and so on.”
WhO DOES IT AND WhAT’S ThE ATTRACTION?
A lot of interest comes from university graduates because it’s
a good next step for marine biology – providing experience
at the coal-face.
KEy FACTS
• The observer programme is an independent
programme funded by the commercial fishing industry.
• The observer programme currently has 55 observers:
45 male/10 female
• Observer coverage for 07/08 targets 7462 sea days
a year (note one 12 hour shift per person equals one
sea day)
• Observer coverage is often steered by stock
monitoring or the request for more scientific data
• Average inshore fishery trips range from 7-10 days or
up to 35 days for deepwater trips
• International trips can be as long as a couple of
months. One of the largest trips took place last year
which saw a female observer at sea in the South
Georgia area for 150 days
• Observers can earn up to $290 per day depending on
experience and level of work required

OBSERVERS ENjOy THE SaME SEa CONdITIONS aS THE REST OF THE CREW.
“Otherwise, we get people from all walks of life opting to
give observer coverage a go. We’ve had school-teachers,
bricklayers, corporates, the whole gamut.
One of the attractions is a good daily pay rate, with observers
earning up to $290 per day, depending on requirements and
level of experience.
“The fact that there’s nowhere to spend your money then
makes it a great forced savings scheme.”
“Some people choose to work six months a year and have
six months off for holidaying or to just have the flexibility to do
what they want more often.
Accommodation and food is all part of the package and
more often than not, no expense is spared when it comes
to the chef.
MONITORINg By-CaTCH OF PROTECTEd WILdLIFE IS ONE OF
aN OBSERVER’S kEy ROLES.
“You get roast dinners, bacon and eggs, all the good stuff.”
CONDITIONS AT SEA
David describes the contrast of experience for observers as
ranging from one extreme to the next, depending on whether
an observer is on a big trawl boat or a smaller boat – with a
crew that’s used to observers being present or with a crew
that’s not.
“Because the big trawling boats are used to observers,
they can be quite supportive of what an observer is there
to do. More often than not, you get to enjoy life’s comforts
too, complete with sky TV and DVDs, although some vessels
have very few home comforts and small cabins.
“Some of the smaller inshore vessels on the other-hand aren’t
necessarily geared up for extra bodies onboard, so living
conditions can feel less welcoming, but often the company
more than makes up for that. We try very hard to match
personalities as best we can when it comes to putting people
in more cramped situations”
David cites one of his greatest experiences as being an
observer on the Ross Sea, during the 05/06 season.
“It was like waking up in a national geographic show every
day. The sun, the ice, the clarity of air, it was all so pure and
quite magic.
“That said, we were also recording a lot of data standing in
snow, wind and rain, at minus 15 degree temperatures for up
to six hours at a stretch. So it goes to show that you have to
be prepared for a range of conditions.”
For more information on the observer programme, visit www.
fish.govt.nz Then go to Vacancies and click on ‘observer
programme’.
APRIL 2008 TheBite 5

6 TheBite APRIL 2008
Honorary
fishery officers
Protecting our recreational fisheries
Bite editor Jim Flack hitched a lift with an honorary fishery officer for a
day to see how these hard-working volunteers protect our fisheries.
It’s the first day of summer and it’s a Saturday. The sky is
clear, light winds and no significant swell. Fishers, divers and
snorkellers are out in force. So are MFish’s honorary fishery
officers (HFOs) – 166 hard-working volunteers who spend
much of their spare time making sure fishers are aware of the
regulations, inspecting catches and looking after our fisheries
for future generations.
I’m out patrolling with Kelvin O’Connor on Wellington’s south
coast. Kelvin has been an HFO for four years and finds
it a great way to relax after a busy week running his own
construction company. “It’s not as stressful as you’d think,
patrolling our recreational fisheries. Ninety five percent of
people are happy to see you and appreciate the job you’re
doing. The experiences you have, and the camaraderie with
everyone in MFish is great.”
There are four HFO vehicles out today covering Wellington
and the Kapiti Coast between Wainuiomata and Waikanae.
They met first thing in the morning to decide on the best
strategy for the day’s patrolling.
“We look at the wind, swell and tides and place our HFOs
where the conditions are best suited for fishing,” Kelvin says.
“Every day is different. We take that into account and we
place ourselves where we think the fishers are going to be.”
At morning meeting, the HFOs have divided the coast up
between them and will be covering the boat ramps and as
many fishing spots as they can. Wellington’s exposed rocky
coast produces good paua and rock lobster, so lots of
emphasis is placed on making sure fishers know the rules for
these species and stick to them.
HFOs are usually keen recreational fishers and have a very
good understanding of where the fishing hot spots are. As
we take our first drive around the area we are patrolling for
the day, Kelvin points out the scallop beds, mussel rocks,
popular surfcasting spots and many of the bays that are
popular for paua and rock lobster.
Kelvin stops and chats to people launching boats or donning
wetsuits before a dive. He’s handing out plenty of brochures

and explaining the correct way to measure each species.
He’s also sending the conservation message – “limit your
catch, you don’t have to catch your limit. Leave some in the
water for next time.”
“Education is a big part of an HFOs job,” says Kelvin. While
ignorance of the rules is not an excuse, we do all we can
to make people aware of the rules, so they can land a legal
catch. We speak at schools, holiday programmes and to
interest groups about fishing rules and conservation tips for
fishing, gathering and putting back any undersize catch.”
The HFOs stay in radio contact throughout the day, ready to
back one another up or re-deploy. “If one part of the coast is
quiet, or if the weather packs up, we can move our HFO’s to
where the action is.”
The MFish Communications Centre means HFO’s can
respond quickly to 0800 4 POACHER calls (0800 476 224).
“The 0800 4 POACHER number is so important. People hate
seeing our fisheries getting ripped off. The number gives
people a chance to do something about it and gives fishery
officers and HFOs a great chance of catching poachers.”
“I got an 0800 4 POACHER call one day, saying that there
was a bloke getting out of the water with an onion sack of
full of paua. I got there in time to catch up with him. It turned
out he had three onion sacks with 207 paua, most of them
undersize. It makes a huge difference getting that type of
information.”
By early afternoon boats are starting to come back to the
ramps and divers are getting out of the water. Most people are
more than happy to let Kelvin inspect their catch, particularly
two fishers who have a haul of 10 hapuka between them.
“The fishing rules are very fair. I have no problems with
enforcing them. Five häpuka per person per day is a lot
of fish.”
We talk to a snorkeller who has a mixed bag of kina and
paua. It turns out the last time Kelvin spoke to this fisher, he
had taken undersize paua. As a result he received a $250
infringement notice in the mail. This time the snorkeller is
within the daily bag limit for both species, and the paua are
all 125mm or over. Both he and Kelvin are very pleased about
this. “That guy learnt from his mistake, it’s good to see.”
Not everyone played by the rules that day though. Later on
Kelvin talks to a guy with 47 paua (the daily bag limit is 10),
41 of them undersize. Another has 27 tiny paua, the largest
being 40mm. A spear-fisher has two undersize blue cod and
a snorkeller has an undersize female rock lobster.
I head home to see the family and Kelvin stays out on the
coast until almost dark, talking to people and making sure
they did the right thing by the fishery that day.
MFish HFO co-ordinator for the Wellington compliance district
Dianne Manning says HFOs are a very important part of the
fisheries compliance effort for the district.
“Our HFOs are knowledgeable and professional and take
their fisheries protection work very seriously. They educate
thousands of people every year about fishing rules and find
hundreds of illegal catches, and that’s just in Wellington. They
are a vital part of the team.”
hFO FACTS
• 166 HFOs cover from North Cape to Stewart Island
(as at 30 November 2007)
• HFOs work primarily with recreational fishers, but
also provide useful information on black market
fishing and at times help fulltime fishery officers with
surveillance when required
• HFOs have all the powers of a fulltime fishery
officer, except the power of arrest
• There are 150 fulltime warranted fishery officers
in the 11 compliance districts from Northland to
Southland.
• Most compliance districts have an HFO coordinator
who is a fulltime fishery officer. The coordinator
ensures the HFO’s are provided with all
necessary resources to conduct
their duties.
APRIL 2008 TheBite 7

8 TheBite APRIL 2008
Ministry of Fisheries Photography Competition
After some difficult decisions,
four winners were selected
for the Ministry of Fisheries
Photography Competition in
February.
The overall winner and winner of the aquatic
ecosystems category went to Kura Paul-Burke from
Whakatane.
Her image, Deep, blue kina, was taken while hauling
heavy nets of kina by hand after free diving at White
Island.
Judges of the competition noted that her image was
hugely atmospheric, had great depth and brilliant
colour contrast.
The winner of the commercial section was Peter
Langlands of Christchurch whose image, Shooting
trawl gear at dawn, epitomised a typical commercial
fisher in New Zealand during a reflective moment
at sea.
The customary winner went to Alan Riwaka from
Wellington. His shot, “I’ll eat this one” was captured
at Waikawa Marae at Queen Charlotte Sound.
dEEP, BLUE kINa
kURa PaUL-BURkE, WHakaTaNE
Judges said the picture encapsulated a fun,
spontaneous moment of being together during a
customary gathering.
Finally, the winner of the recreational category was
Juergen Schacke from Hokitika. His image Local
knowledge captured a whitebaiter at sunset along
the Hokitika River mouth.
Judges said his image caught a number a different
elements very simply with great composition and
use of brilliant light.
More than 250 entries were received for the inaugural
competition.
“We were delighted to see such a wide range of high
quality images from all around New Zealand,” says
MFish chief executive Wayne McNee.
“The competition raises awareness of aquatic
biodiversity and sustainable fishing practices within
New Zealand and is a great way to celebrate New
Zealand’s connection with the sea,” he says.
Judges included Ross Giblin from Wellington’s
Dominion Post, Athol McCredie, Curator of
Photography at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa
Tongarewa, Auckland underwater photographer
Darryl Torckler and Simon Woolf, a well-known
Wellington photographer.

LOCaL kNOWLEdgE
jUERgEN SCHaCkE, HOkITIka
SHOOTINg TRaWLINg gEaR aT daWN
PaUL LaNgLaNdS, CHRISTCHURCH
I’LL EaT THIS ONE
aLaN RIWaka, WELLINgTON
APRIL 2008 TheBite 9

10 TheBite APRIL 2008
an environmental standard
for limiting seabird by-catch
New Zealand waters host the greatest variety of albatross and petrel species in
the world, and are an important breeding ground for around eighty of these, says
Spencer Clubb, MFish senior policy analyst.
“Fishing is one of the greatest threats to these species’
survival, so we’re setting a limit on the number of seabird
deaths in New Zealand fisheries. This ‘Seabird Standard’ will
be a total upper limit across all fisheries.
“Initial advice to the Minister suggests the limit should be set
somewhere between 500 and 2000 deaths per year.
Spencer says this number is not a mechanism to close
fisheries once a certain number is reached, but a performance
standard for government and industry to work together to
achieve.
SO hOW FAR ARE WE AT ThE MOMENT FROM
MEETING ThIS PROPOSED STANDARD?
Spencer says the best information to date is based on
scientific modelling of 2004 observer reports from longliners
and trawlers in New Zealand waters. It suggests these
vessels killed around 2500-7500 seabirds that year. This
figure is likely to be lower today, as a result of recent voluntary
action by industry and Government regulations. However,
the 2004 figure did not include any of the birds killed in set
net fisheries.
hOW DOES FIShING
ThREATEN BIRDS?
Albatrosses and petrels forage widely and are attracted
to the fish, offal and discards they often find around
fishing vessels.
In longline fisheries, they risk getting caught on hooks
and drowning as they try to eat bait from the lines.
In trawl fisheries, the birds risk hitting the heavy trawl
cables as they chase offal and discards behind a
trawler; or risk drowning in the net as they try to take
fish from it.
Albatross and petrel species typically live a long time
and produce few offspring. If a breeding adult dies,
the chick almost always dies too, and the remaining
partner may take several years to start nesting again
with a new partner.

“The estimate is very uncertain, because to date we haven’t
had much observer coverage in some fisheries,” he says.
“This is particularly the case with smaller vessels like setnetters
and inshore trawlers and long-liners.”
NATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION FOR SEABIRD
By-CATCh
In addition to the Seabird Standard, the Government is
currently making changes to its National Plan of Action to
Reduce the Incidental Catch of Seabirds in New Zealand
Fisheries (Seabird NPOA), to ensure that each fishery plays
its part in meeting the seabird standard.
The original Seabird NPOA released in 2004 allowed fishers
to manage seabird deaths in their fisheries through voluntary
Codes of Practice. But it said that if voluntary measures did
not work, the government would introduce regulations.
It is proposed that the new Seabird NPOA will include:
• A limit for each fishery (derived from the Seabird Standard)
• Assessing whether a fishery will meet these limits without
additional intervention
• Assessing if intervention is needed, assessing whether a
voluntary approach would work, or whether regulations are
required
• A transparent process for monitoring our fisheries combined
performance against the Seabird Standard.
Spencer says it will be a big challenge to ensure that fishing
does not affect the viability of endangered seabird species.
OUR INTERNATIONAL
OBLIGATIONS
New Zealand has a number of international obligations
around seabirds and fishing. These include:
• Convention on Migratory Species (CMS);
• Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and
Petrels (ACAP); and
• The United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organisation International Plan of Action (IPOA)
for Reducing the Incidental Catch of Seabirds in
Longline Fisheries.
New Zealand’s National Plan of Action for Seabirds
has been developed in response to the IPOA.
“Commercial fishers have more contact with albatrosses and
petrels than most people, and the vast majority of them are
motivated to ensure they don’t catch or harm these birds.
With MFish and fishers working together on techniques to
deter seabirds from fishing gear, we can reduce seabird
by-catch to very low levels.”
Consultation for the Seabird Standard and the Seabird
NPOA closed on 14 March 2008 (visit www.fish.govt.nz for
more details).
APRIL 2008 TheBite 11

12 TheBite APRIL 2008
Virus threatens
australian abalone
Could it threaten New Zealand?
The virus killing abalone in Victoria,
Australia, has the potential to kill paua
if it ever made it to New Zealand. With
New Zealand paua being a customary
staple, a $50million commercial
industry and a snorkeller’s favourite,
we all need to be vigilant to ensure
this virus never arrives.
ThE IMPACT OF ThE VIRUS SO FAR
In May 2006 a herpes-like virus was detected for the first time
in a subpopulation of wild abalone in Taylors Bay, Victoria,
Australia. The virus is known as Abalone Virus Ganglioneuritis
(AVG). Since that time the spread of the virus is showing a
consistent movement along the coast of Victoria of 5-10km
per month. It has most recently been observed infecting
black lip and green lip abalone populations along almost
200km of the Victoria Coastline.
Surveys have suggested declines in infected populations of
40-95%. In February 2007 the abalone divers in south west
Victoria were forecasting a $5million loss (Australian dollars) in
this season’s earnings as a result of the virus. In an attempt to
mitigate the spread and impact of the virus both mandatory
and voluntary closures of areas of coastline to commercial
and recreational harvest have been imposed.
hOW TO PROTECT NEW ZEALAND STOCKS
The greenlip, blacklip and hybrid abalone species of Australia
appear to show equal susceptibility to the virus and there is
no reason to suspect New Zealand’s species of abalone are
not susceptible to infection from this virus. New Zealand’s
best defence is to stop any ganglioneuritis virus incursion
occurring. Potential ways to spread the virus include the
following:
• Commercial diving equipment
• Water sports equipment including: surfing or body boarding
gear (boards, wetsuits, rash shirts, booties etc), diving and
snorkling gear and fishing gear.
• Any live or dead abalone from the infected area.
• Any shells, stones or other beach material that has
been collected from along the Victoria coastline.

Spread of the virus can be mitigated if all surfing, diving
and fishing gear is suitably washed and completely
dried before leaving the infected area, or before
entering an uninfected area, including New Zealand.
This also includes all footwear and clothing worn on
any aquaculture facility within Australia.
hOW DID ThE VIRUS BECOME ESTABLIShED?
There is believed to be a high likelihood that infected abalone
on a land-based abalone farm were the source of virus infection
into wild abalone stocks. It is believed the virus spread from
the farm into the wild abalone populations of Taylors Bay as a
result of inadequate biosecurity protocols (including disposal
of live abalone, waste water, shell and offal) on the farm. How
the virus got into the farms is not as yet known. There are
a number of working assumptions, however determining the
original source is extremely difficult.
New Zealand has its own measures in place to protect our
blackfoot paua (Haliotis iris). While most of these are voluntary
measures monitored by MFish and implemented by the Paua
Industry Council and paua farmers, other developments
are underway via collaboration between MFish, Biosecurity
New Zealand and relevant stakeholders. The combination of
these measures will aim to address further protection of New
Zealand’s paua from the spread of disease. MFish and other
agencies are working closing to ensure further measures will
be applied where necessary.
SyMPTOMS OF ThE VIRUS
The virus threatening Australia’s paua causes inflammation of
the nervous tissue, resulting in the edges of the foot curling
inwards, swelling and protrusion of the mouth and excess
mucus production. Active signs of the viral infection include:
infected animals loosing muscle control and sliding or falling
BLaCk FOOT PaUa (HaLIOTIS IRIS)
off their home scars on the reef, and large amounts of intact
but near-dead abalone, shiny empty shells and loose meats
rolling around in the wash.
The virus is spread through direct contact between infected
and healthy abalone. It is believed the virus is exuded in the
mucus. The virus can spread without a host through the
water column however it is not known how long it survives
in this medium. It is not known at this stage if the virus is
transmitted from parent to progeny.
BLACK FOOT PAUA
(hALIOTIS IRIS)
Paua is highly valued by both New Zealand’s noncommercial
and commercial sectors.
It is a particularly valued customary fishery, as
providing paua at important events like hui or tangi
helps uphold the mana of the host marae. The use
of paua shell for decoration and fishing devices is
also a big part of Māori tradition. In some places,
paua is an important part of the diet.
The main paua fisheries are in the lower half of the
North Island (Wairarapa/ Wellington south coast),
top of the South Island (outer Marlborough Sounds
and Kaikoura), the lower half of the South Island
(Otago/Southland/Fiordland), Stewart Island and
the Chatham Islands.
Two other paua species are found in New Zealand
waters – yellow foot paua (H. australis) and virgin or
white foot paua (H. virginea). Both are smaller than
black foot paua and less common.
APRIL 2008 TheBite 13

14 TheBite APRIL 2008
The business of fishing has
changed radically since the
1970s. Few fisheries managers
have seen as much of that
change, first hand, as MFish
chief fishery officer Dave Wood.
Dave was at the table in 1978
when the government was
working out how to manage
and patrol its new Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ) and he
was involved in developing
New Zealand’s revolutionary
Quota Management System
(QMS)
a working life
managing our
fisheries
At the beginning of May, Dave leaves MFish after 40 years
in the public service. He says he always wanted to work to
support primary production for export and after a taste of the
passion that surrounds fishing, he knew that was the sector
for him.
A 17-year-old Dave Wood joined the Department of
Agriculture in Timaru in 1967 as a cadet. A couple of years
later he transferred to Wellington, where he met his future
wife, Sandra, and had two years working in health research
PIC TO COME
before taking a job in the newly formed Ministry of Agriculture
and Fisheries (MAF).
Dave describes working on measures to manage the new
EEZ in the late 1970s as a very exciting time.
“Before the EEZ, we managed fisheries out to three miles,
beyond that was open slather. So patrolling was quite
straight forward. With the International Law of the Sea
Convention and the establishment of national EEZs, out to

200 miles, patrolling became quite a different matter. We
employed 30 extra fishery officers straight away to go to sea
and monitor fishing. This was the precursor to the modern
fisheries observer programme. We set up the Fisheries
Communication Centre so MAF could stay in touch with the
foreign vessels that were fishing in the EEZ, 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.”
The beginning of the 1980s saw Dave working at the Beehive
as the private secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and
Fisheries Duncan MacIntyre. The hours were long with a 7am
to midnight working day not being unusual. But there was
always something interesting happening, particularly when
Deputy Prime Minister MacIntyre was acting Prime Minister
during the 1981 Springbok tour. Dave sat in on late night
meetings with the chief of police and the chairman of the
rugby union, as the tour unfolded.
He was back at MAF in 1982 and working on some of
the early methods of controlling how much fishing was
undertaken in areas that were under pressure. Dave worked
on controlling boat numbers and fishing effort in the national
rock lobster fisheries, Hauraki Gulf wet-fish, Foveaux Strait
oysters and Lake Ellesmere eels. His staff kept tabs on the
70 or 80 foreign vessels in the EEZ and the 300-odd squidjigging
vessels that arrived each year for the squid season.
In his spare time he worked on a team that was developing
the QMS.
One of Dave’s main roles in the QMS development was
leading the team that worked out fishers’ catch history that
would be used to base a fisher’s annual quota. Until then
catch history was assigned to vessels, and vessels regularly
NEW ZEaLaNd’S
EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE (EEZ)
changed hands. So a vessel’s catch history might need to be
spread between the current owner and several past owners.
The results were always going to be open to challenge, and
as soon as catch histories were assigned, Dave got to lead
the team that managed the quota appeals process.
“We dealt with 60 to 100 appeals at a different location every
fortnight. Often we met with fishers and worked out the
discrepancies before the appeal, but if we couldn’t agree,
both sides gave evidence and let a mediator decide. It was
an incredibly intense two years, and very satisfying.”
With a new fisheries management regime in place, a new
approach was needed for fisheries enforcement, and Dave
started working on these issues as a manager, as he would
do for the rest of his fisheries career.
“In the past, we (fishery officers) had been hiding behind flax
bushes waiting for people to do something wrong and nabbing
them. That wasn’t suitable for enforcing the commercial rules
under the QMS. We moved to a system where fishers knew
their rights and obligations and were required to report back
to us.”
Poring over fishing returns to find offences requires a different
set of skills, and the compliance group was soon employing
people that could identify fraud, as well as those that could
patrol the coast.
Dave held many senior positions in compliance, including
managing the whole compliance effort under the MAF
structure, and post 1995, under the new Ministry of Fisheries
(MFish) structure.
In the past few years he has been involved in international
compliance agreements for the high seas, working on
specifications for the new Project Protector fleet, improving
aerial surveillance capabilities of the Airforce’s Orion aircraft and
the pleasant task of conducting an independent compliance
review of the Western Australian pearling industry.
Although there have been many highlights in his time with
compliance, he says overseeing Operation Pacman, where
140 fishery officers, supported by 120 police and 40 military
personnel, simultaneously swooped on paua poaching
targets all over the country, rates very highly. The operation
netted freezers full of paua, a plethora of boats and vehicles,
a goldmine of intelligence about paua poaching, and led to
dozens of prosecutions.
Dave says his decision to retire was influenced by a stroke he
suffered two years ago. To mitigate the shock of retirement,
he has agreed to complete his commitment later in the year
to the role of chairing the Compliance Committee of the
Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna. It
doesn’t look like he’s finished with fishing yet.
APRIL 2008 TheBite 15

16 TheBite APRIL 2008
Eight
fisheries
plans
groups are
underway
The first eight Fisheries Plans
Advisory Groups are up and running
and working towards finding the best
value from their fisheries.
MFish National Manager Fisheries Operations, Jonathan
Peacey, says fisheries plans are part of the objectives-based
management approach. This involves tangata whenua and
stakeholders working with MFish to determine how to get
the best value from fisheries for all those involved in fishing,
and the country as a whole, within environmental limits set
by Government.
Advisory groups are under way for the following fisheries:
Northland scallops, west coast North Island finfish, Gisborne/
East Coast rock lobster (CRA3), Challenger finfish (Nelson/
West Coast South Island), southern shellfish, Fiordland paua
(PAU5A), middle depth/deepwater, and tunas.
The advisory groups are made up of customary, commercial
and amateur fishers, environmental interests, and MFish staff
(including Operations, Science, and Compliance). Initially
TO ORDER A COPy OF TheBite PLEASE CONTACT:
Communications Group Tel: 64 4 470 2600
Ministry of Fisheries
Email: comms@fish.govt.nz
PO Box 1020, Wellington Web: www.fish.govt.nz
the groups review the current status and management of
the fishery, then develop objectives to get best value from
the fisheries, and determine the management measures
and services (e.g., research and enforcement) needed to
achieve those objectives. While working on fisheries plans,
advisory group members discuss progress and issues with
other members of their sector to ensure they can contribute
the best available information to the plan. When each plan is
finished it will go to the Minister of Fisheries for approval.
Jonathan says completing a fisheries plan is expected to
take between one and two years and the advisory group will
then oversee its implementation. He expects plans will be
reviewed every five years.
The Fisheries Planning Pages on the Ministry’s website
(www.fish.govt.nz) is the place to find information on fisheries
plans. Information includes: advisory group participants,
meeting dates, agendas and minutes, draft fisheries plans,
and lots of background information on the fisheries.
Jonathan says MFish is very happy with the progress the
eight advisory groups are making. Further groups will be set
up over the next few years to develop plans for the remaining
groups of fisheries.
ISSN 1177-388X