New Zealand''s Sanford, one of the largest fishers in the Hauraki Gulf, has said it is prepared to stop fishing in the area if all fishers record and report what they are catching.
The offer was made at the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Seminar in Auckland by Sanford’s CEO, Volker Kuntzsch.
“Complete transparency and data on all fishing in the Gulf is an important future step to preserving the fish stocks for future generations,” said Mr Kuntzsch.
He added: “The issue we have is that around half or more of what’s taken out of the Gulf is currently unreported, meaning we have a massive hole in the information available on the health and size of the fish stocks.”
VMS tracking technology has been put on all commercial fishers vessels in the last 12 months. The fishers have adopted a move-on rule when they encounter undersize snapper, they should record and report all undersize snapper they catch and are required to return it to the sea.
The responsibility for the shared stewardship of looking after fish stocks has grown as the population of Auckland has increased.
“Technology now makes it really easy for everyone to record what they’re catching and the size of the fish. The Fish4All app, developed in Wellington for recreational fishers is a great start. But more work will be needed with MPI to get a reporting system right,” said Mr Kuntzsch.
Sanford has predicted that in the next three years all of Sanford’s in-shore trawl fleet will also be using the new Precision Seafood Harvesting fishing method to boost sustainability efforts.
Mr Kuntzsch concluded: “There’s a great saying that, ‘if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it’ – if we can start accurately measuring all the fish being caught in the Hauraki Gulf, we will have the best information to know how to keep improving the health of the fish stocks.”
