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    Re: Paddle Crab Invasion Archived Message

    Posted by Hardy on 13/9/2008, 3:45 pm, in reply to "Paddle Crab Invasion"

    Well Happy not quite sure where you are coming from here. I have read and re-read Perrys post and nowhere does he badmouth Fisheries Officers. In fact his post is in support of increased numbers of them. In his reference to " Throw the book at them etc, he is obviously referring to the Courts.

    However as of late penalties have been increasing dramatically.

    In regard to " Poor Management of our Fisheres "
    well the facts support that statement.

    The Quota Mangement System (QMS)is in itself, really just the way in which the Total Allowable Commercial Catch, (TACC) is distributed amongst the Commercial sector.

    It is the setting of the TACC that decides whether a fish stock will be depleted or remain sustainable. Sadly, it is more or less a hit and miss affair if one goes by past history of TACC records.

    I allude to the TACC for Orange Roughy and Hoki.
    The current TACC for Orange Roughy is dramactically reduced from when it was first set. Due to the stock fast becoming unsustainable. So the first and subsequent TACC rates for Orange Roughy were well off the mark.

    The same goes for Hoki, which this season also had a dramatic reduction in the TACC. And the three main commercial players were in support of this reduced TACC.

    The TACC is set mainly by the number of juvenile fish caught and the time it took each company to fill its quota. A declining number of juvenile fish caught indicates the fishery is under threat and the TACC is impacting on sustainability of the species.

    A good question is where have the schooling Kahawai gone. In fact where have the Kahawai gone. This particular species of fish is fast becoming a rarity in places. Obviously overfished, so the TACC is well out of kilter there.

    Where have the snapper gone, the same applies.

    On a positive note Jim Anderton, The Minister of Fisheries has the testicular fortitude to make some hard decisions in regards to fish stocks.
    However he can only make decisions on the advice he receives from the scientific quarter. And if the TACC models and other information is flawed. Then the result is a depleted fish stock.

    In my view it kinda goes like this. Lets set a TACC and review the annual situation. Then we will reduce the TACC when we hit the mark where the species hits the under threat of depletion point. Now that seems to me to be just a tad risky. Kinda like, lets take it to the brink, push the limit, and then pull back. Trouble is that more times than not it is too late. The damage has been done.

    Cheers Trev

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