Meet the Ministrys new Chief Executive - Ministry of Fisheries

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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
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Meet the Ministrys new Chief Executive - Ministry of Fisheries

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