It has certainly won a lot of goodwill. However, there are critics, for example over exactly what the orange roughy situation is and will be in the future. New Zealand says it is one of the best managed, yet some suggest, for example, that there is a basic contradiction in reports of speedily recovered stocks when the fish itself is a long-lived, slow-growing species. There have been major internal rows about the development of acquaculture and the potential associated risks of pollution and of course the issue of aboriginal rights and coastal areas
It should not be forgotten either that behind the smiling New Zealand face there have long been hard-nosed businessmen and government officials and politicians who were prepared to take on the world and make big money. Long before those superb mussels New Zealand was battling with Brussels over lamb and running all kinds of international lobbying operations to protect its farmers when the Britain joined the EU. New Zealand dairy products were part of that internationalisation with this small country finding fresh roads into the former colonies of the British Empire of which it was part. Then there was the development of the international kiwi fruit market which went from nothing to a major earner.
It is in this context that one should see the development of the NZ seafood industry. NZ lies in the Southern Pacific Ocean, 2,000 kilometres east of Australia, and directly controls the world’s fourth largest coastal fishing exclusive economic Zone (EEZ) produces about one per cent of the world’s catch and covers 2.2 million square kilometres of ocean ranging over 30 degrees of latitude, from the sub-tropical Kermadec Islands to the sub - Antarctic Auckland and Campbell Islands.
Just 20 years ago no one would have realised how seafood would come on and today's aquaculture industry was simply the dream of a few marine farm pioneers.
Now, the seafood industry is poised for further growth and anticipates total export returns of $2 billion by 2010. The industry has been in battle mode over the controversial foreshore and seabed legislation, the aim of which is to preserve it in perpetuity as common heritage for all New Zealanders.
The Aquaculture Reform Act 2004 has been another key piece of legislation, which aims better to deal with environmental effects, including the cumulative effects of aquaculture, and assisting the aquaculture industry to develop in a sustainable way.
Among other developments since last Christmas, a new Chief executive of the NZ Ministry of fisheries, John Glaister, has joined the industry. John Glaister has worked in a number of different areas in fisheries governance in Australia, bringing broad experience and knowledge as well as a new view to NZ’s fisheries management.
“New Zealand fisheries have the reputation of being one of the world’s best-managed fisheries, based on sound science,” Glaister says. “So winning a leading role with one of the world’s most impressive players was very satisfying.”
Since taking on the role, he has done a lot of background reading, including “Hooked”, a history of the New Zealand fishing industry, plus a book on the Treaty of Waitangi and how this has played out in the fisheries area.
“Fisheries management is complex with lots of different stakeholders, and consultation is necessary to get a real understanding of issues from the various different angles, to formulate a fair path through” he maintains.
He is also supportive of the Fisheries Act as a means of accomplishing this, saying ”the Act is very clear that the fishery is sustainably managed for the benefit of all New Zealanders, the priority being that stocks and ecosystems be sustained and then the allocation of the rights to the resources within the fishery follow”.
Glaister says the fisheries Act is a fine piece of legislation because it is not too prescriptive and “allows decisions to be made with the best information available.”
He also notes that “in other parts of the world there are startling examples of fisheries management plans not working and governance being so cumbersome that a solution isn’t worked out until after the fishery has been devastated.
“It’s terrific that New Zealand doesn’t have so many agencies and players,” he says. “The layers aren’t here, and it allows for much clearer channels of communication. I intend to foster that communication and have closer and more direct contact with counterparts in other government departments and in the fishing sector.”
Glaister is impressed that the industry is outward looking and responsive to evolving global attitudes and environmental issues and says this gives New Zealand seafood an edge in the market.
“The challenge for the industry will be to stay ahead on environmental issues and be aware of the general public’s assessment of it in this regard, and the only way this can be done is through fostering partnerships between the fishing industry, the Ministry and environmental groups,” he says.
He also sees that the challenge coming up for the Ministry is for a tighter definition of property rights within fisheries which he maintains is a gap that needs attention, adding that the tensions between commercial, customary and recreation rights will become more difficult to resolve in the future as the fishery comes under more pressure from non-commercial fishers.
Neither is he the only player seeing opportunities in the New Zealand fishing industry. One other person who knows the business inside out is John McKoy, the general manager of Fisheries at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric (NIWA) research in Wellington.
McKoy says few people in the seafood industry argue against the need for research and stock assessment to guide fisheries management.
“To be frank, however, it comes down to credibility and expertise,” he said recently. “As an organisation, we are set up to work to benefit New Zealand and people know we’re big enough not to bend to pressure to pre-empt scientific outcomes.
“Our size also brings both depth and diversity of scientific expertise.
For example, our fisheries modellers, biologists, oceanographers and climate scientists are working together on understanding and perhaps predicting how ocean conditions may have contributed to changes."
McKoy also knows that Fisheries research involves a lot of uncertainties, “such as limits on our ability to measure what’s happening, including variation in fish stocks, and variations caused by fishing," he says
And that’s probably why he sees a key challenge for his organisation as measuring and understanding things to a level of accuracy that is appropriate to fisheries management needs. “Effective progress in this area will only be made if it is well informed.” McKoy says. “NIWA’s capabilities and resources are the major investment that this country has made in marine ecological research and we should use them effectively," he said.
