New Zealand fisheries tour ‘useful’

NEW ZEALAND – A series of workshops in New Zealand last week for Pacific fisheries ministers and officials to look at how to improve the management of their fisheries has been called “very useful”.

New Zealand had been putting the focus on the merit of its quota management system as a way to improve the Pacific’s control of, and the sustainability of their various fisheries.

The director general of the Pacific Community, Dr Colin Tukuitonga, told Radio New Zealand’s Dateline Pacific the discussions have been worthwhile but there is a need for much more talk before any new management approaches are arrived at.

“My observation is that the ministers and officials appreciate the opportunity that New Zealand has provided to share its fisheries management experience.

“And there have been a number of discussions on the various ways New Zealand has managed its own fisheries. I am clear that it has been a very useful week.

“Clearly, some things need to be followed through – just this morning we looked at Fish Serve – an New Zealand agency that helps companies get up to speed about the quota management system – on how New Zealand managed information regarding fisheries management, and we recognise in the region, that for example, the Parties to the Nauru Agreement has a very good system for the members of PNA. But across the region, we need something that serves the needs of all of our members, and the agreement is that we need to get into a smaller group for technical discussions around how best to support data management for fisheries management purposes in the region.

“There are issues around policy, around funding, around governance, around management capabilities for example. So a whole range of issues were discussed.”

DATELINE PACIFIC: At the very beginning there had been some concerns about this emphasis on catch limits, quota instead of the VDS (Vessel Day Scheme) that is operated by the PNA.

“I don’t quite know how that happened, where people, you know, there was a view that New Zealand was trying to push its quota management system on the islands, because that is certainly not the case.

“People clearly accept the fact that the VDS system operated by the PNA has achieved some good results, and the whole study tour was about learning from the New Zealand experience.

“And at the end of the day the island countries and the regional organisations are going to have to make a decision on what is best for the region, and that is not my impression despite what might have come out in the media.

“I don’t think anyone was trying to say the VDS system was not appropriate and that the New Zealand Quota Management System is better.

“The study tour was really about saying, ‘here is the New Zealand experience, here’s what we have found to have worked, here are the lessons we learnt, here are the things that didn’t work’.

“Everyone was impressed with what is going on in New Zealand but my own observations were, it is a suitable system for New Zealand but it is very sophisticated obviously, and quite complex, and the question I have is around, what can we learn from New Zealand and what’s really feasible in the region, given the management limitations, the funding limitations, for example.

“I do think there are aspects of the quota management system that people see as potentially useful. But I can’t say that immediately following on from this that something is going to be implemented.

“I do know, for example, that on data management, information management, information sharing, that there’s clearly going to have to be work that has to go on, by the right experts if you like from the region, learning from the New Zealand experience.” - Dateline Pacific