Sustainability

The effectiveness of the quota management system (QMS) for creating sustainable fisheries is in dispute.

Take hoki: it's our second-most-valuable export fishery.

For the second time, the hoki industry has been awarded the sustainability tick of the world's top marine certification organisation - the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). This recognises our QMS has a good grasp of hoki numbers and that our fishers use "world best practice" techniques to reduce the amount of by-catch.

But even this "best managed fishery" has its critics. The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand and the New Zealand branch of the World Wildlife Fund appealed hoki's sustainability tick. Both thought that the certifier had been too generous when it reviewed hoki against the criteria for a sustainable fishery.

And the independent international panel that heard the objections to the hoki fishery's re-certification thought the critics had a point. It thought hoki passed the re-certification only "by the skin of its teeth". The panel noted that the certifier had based some of its marks on "highly optimistic" assumptions. Despite these reservations, the sustainability tick stands. According to industry, the management of hoki is a New Zealand success story. The only other MSC-certified fish available in New Zealand is John West canned Alaskan salmon.

Sustainable consuming

You can see the hoki debate reflected in buying guides about sustainable fisheries. The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society rates hoki as one of the least sustainable fish in its widely circulated Best Fish Guide. Not surprisingly, the Seafood Industry Council and the Fisheries Minister disagree. The Seafood Industry Council says all New Zealand fisheries are sustainable.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) carries out much of the research used to set catch limits. NIWA's chief scientist for fisheries Dr John McKoy says: "The essence of those different views is uncertainty. It's not easy to measure fish stocks, so you end up with statistical limits. The limits can be quite wide. People interpret those limits to suit themselves."

In Dr McKoy's view, the concept of "sustainability" is based on the criteria that you personally choose to set. He points out that MSC's criteria are internationally regarded as well balanced and rigorous.

He also cautions that there's a serious lack of data about many fish stocks: "We don't have much information at all about many of our in-shore fisheries and what we have is often quite old. For many fish stocks, we don't have adequate information to be confident about management decisions."

By the buy

On the day Consumer went fishing (see Quota management system), Nunzio and his crew pulled up about $2000 worth of crayfish after deducting the cost of ACE (annual catch entitlement) for that catch. Around $22 per kg of crayfish caught goes towards paying off the cost of ACE. Whether it's worth going out fishing depends on the price of ACE versus the market price for crayfish.

The price paid for the catch is further whittled down by fuel ($400), bait ($200) and general maintenance. The rest of the money is split between the crew. It was a good day, but that's not always the case. Fishers are at the mercy of the catch, the weather, the price of fuel, and the market demand. Nunzio sometimes loses money if different combinations of these factors are against him.

Most small owner-operators face similar pressures. Those who own quota at least have the option of leasing it if high fuel prices or a sky-high exchange rate make fishing uneconomical. But even quota owners are in a bind if the market falls out of their particular fishery or the total allowable catch is cut.