South Island recreational fishers form group to push for rights

Wednesday, 17 July 2019

Fish Mainland says the group will benefit recreational fishers and the government.

Recreational fishers in the South Island are calling for their 'right to fish' to be recognised in a similar way to iwi and commercial fishing interests.

Fish Mainland is a working group which has been set up to 'coordinate, represent and promote' the interests of the marine recreational fishing community with the vision of restoring and sustaining fisheries.

Chairman Jim Crossland said the commercial fishing industry and iwi had organisations to look after their interests and their rights were enshrined in legislation.

'Recreational fishers on the other hand have no statutory rights that we know of.'

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'We really need to represent them. We need to have a right.'

Crossland said they were unlikely to be recognised in the same way as commercial catchers, but they wanted an 'equitable share'.

'There's nothing covering us at the moment. Ultimately we would like to be recognised as having a right.

Fish Mainland say recreational rights are not officially recognised.

'It's just assumed that we have the right. It's not laid down anywhere in legislation,' he said.

Crossland had been fishing since 1951, had worked as a commercial fisher, recreational fisher, a fisheries scientist, administrator and consultant.

He was also a member of the Akaroa Harbour Recreation fishing club.

Crossland said the first step to improving marine recreational fishing was having a 'professional, adequately funded organisation' to represent fishers' interests to Government

'We see it as a benefit not only to recreational fishers but also to Fisheries New Zealand. If we get it going, we'll have a handle on what's going on in the recreational fishing sector.'

They had started by approaching fishing clubs as they spread the word of Fish Mainland and tried to get 'as wide a representation' as possible, Crossland said.

The group was still working on its constitution before incorporating the group.

They planned to select a board of directors from five regions around the South Island, along with iwi and some who would be selected for professional expertise.

'There will be local input but there will also be a unifying voice for the whole of the South Island.'

Crossland said they had a number of ideas as to how to fund the group.

'Certainly there's a moral obligation for some funding from the Government bearing in mind that every time you take your boat out you're paying road tax on your fuel,' he said.

Other options were contracting Fish Mainland to conduct surveys for Fisheries NZ, or a membership fee.

The group aims to enable people to enjoy their pastime while helping restore fisheries.

An option they had seen in Western Australia was where fishers paid for a licence or permit to fish from a power boat.

'It applies to fishers, not the boat,' Crossland said.

'How it works in Western Australia is that if the skipper is the only one with the license, then the catch of all on board must be within the skipper's bag limits.

'If others on board want to fish to their own bag limits, they too must hold the license when fishing.'

The public accepted the 'fishing from boat license' in WA because they saw how they could benefit, including a database which allowed for relatively low-cost, bi-annual recreational surveys to take place, Crossland said.

'The working group acknowledges that a fishing from a power boat-based fee system for the South Island would have far more appeal if it is not controlled by Government,' he said.

They attempted to create a national body based on similar principles in 2010.

Another working group member Alan Key said the idea gained wide support amongst South Islanders.

'However, when we took our proposal north, it encountered resistance from a few groups,' Key said.

Fish Mainland member Larnce Wichman said representation of South Island recreational fishers 'should be at the same level' as commercial and Māori fishing interests.

'We need a recreational voice that can work collaboratively with the Government, Iwi, the other fishing sectors and interests to find workable solutions for shared problems in inshore fisheries.'

The next step was for the working group to present Fish Mainland's three-year business plan to Government.

Working group member Fred Te Miha said the motivation for establishing Fish Mainland was to help ensure everyone was able to enjoy fishing, while also looking after the fisheries.

'We need to ensure they are sustained for future generations,' Te Miha said.