Plan to cut inshore bycatch revealed
A programme to reduce the risk of catching protected marine species will be rolled out to New Zealand’s inshore fishing fleet in the next two years.
The programme was announced on Thursday at the Federation of Commercial Fishermen Conference in Nelson, and follows similar bycatch reduction programmes in the deepwater and surface longline sectors.
The initiative has been developed with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and the Department of Conservation (DOC), and plans to have all inshore vessels equipped with an individual plan and the associated crew training by 2020.
Fisheries Inshore New Zealand chief executive Dr Jeremy Helson said that while the vast majority of the estimated 400 vessels in the fleet already practised extensive mitigation measures, the programme extended the care the fleet was taking.
‘‘We share our sea with birds, marine mammals, protected fish and marine reptiles, and on occasion will unavoidably capture some. We recognise these impacts and will do all we can to reduce harm to a minimum.
‘‘The industry understands the importance of protecting birds and animals, and there’s certainly been a real acknowledgement of that. Fishermen out there love seeing birds and animals around their boats, but they don’t want to be catching them.’’
The programme will consist of a set of operational procedures for each fleet or sub-fleet. These include a specific risk mitigation plan for each vessel, setting out how they will reduce risks through management of offal, waste and fish as well as from fishing gear and activity.
It will also involve a set of voluntary triggers or notifiable capture events to initiate a review of mitigation measures, and auditing of the programme on the water by a joint committee of MPI, DOC
‘‘Fishermen out there love seeing birds and animals around their boats, but they don’t want to be catching them.’’
Fisheries Inshore New Zealand chief executive Dr Jeremy Helson
and industry representatives. MPI observers on vessels will report on whether they are operating according to the vessel plan.
‘‘Mitigating risk to protected species is always very difficult, just because every vessel and fishery is different, so the way that the risk manifests is so diverse – our experience is that generic solutions just don’t work, or if they do work, they have to be they have to be so generic that they’re not optimal,’’ Helson said.
According to MPI figures released under the Official Information Act, nearly 10,500 animals from more than 70 different seabird species were caught as commercial fishing bycatch in New Zealand waters in the past five years. The most common bycatch species are albatross, shearwaters and petrel.
About 4000 of all birds caught as bycatch were recorded by observers, with the rest reported by commercial fishing operators.
Helson said the inshore fisheries fleet supported the Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage and Seafood New Zealand in pledging a zero bycatch goal.
He had received positive feedback from operators supporting the programme during visits to 14 regional ports in recent months.
However, Helson said the geographical spread and frequent trips undertaken by the inshore fleet would require some significant logistical work to ensure compliance going forward. ‘‘It’s going to take a bit of time to work through.’’