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Review of sustainability measures for 1 April 2019

Update – 26 March 2019

Minister's decisions released

Following consultation, the Minister of Fisheries has made decisions on sustainability measures for 3 rock lobster stocks and one sea cucumber stock for the 2019/20 fishing year, beginning 1 April 2019. This includes decisions relating to total allowable catches (TACs), non-commercial allowances, and total allowable commercial catches (TACCs).

The minister's decision letter provides the details of, and reasons for, each of his decisions.

Minister's decision letter - April 2019 [PDF, 2.7 MB]

Review of Rock Lobster Sustainability Measures for 1 April 2019 [PDF, 2.7 MB]

Review of Sustainability Measures for Sea Cucumber (SCC 7A) for 1 April 2019 [PDF, 1.1 MB]

Submissions received during the consultation

Rock lobster submissions received on the discussion document (Appendix 2) [PDF, 10 MB]

Sea cucumber SCC 7A submissions [PDF, 3 MB]

Supplementary CRA 4 submissions

Supplementary submissions were received from Te Ohu Kaimoana and the rock lobster industry (New Zealand Rock Lobster Industry Council and CRAMAC 4). These were provided to the minister while he was considering the final advice provided by Fisheries New Zealand and the National Rock Lobster Management Group.

Te Ohu Kaimoana [PDF, 108 KB]

New Zealand Rock Lobster Industry Council [PDF, 762 KB]

CRAMAC 4 [PDF, 84 KB]

Summary table of the minister's decisions

Area	Change	Decision summary
Gisborne rock lobster (CRA 3)	↓	Reduce the TAC from 366.86 to 351.9 tonnes. Set the TACC at 222.9 tonnes. Maintain the allowance for customary Māori fishing at 20 tonnes. Maintain the allowance for recreational fishing at 20 tonnes. Maintain the allowance for other sources of mortality to the stock caused by fishing at 89 tonnes.
Wellington/Hawke’s Bay rock lobster (CRA 4)	–	Maintain the TAC at 513.8 tonnes; Maintain the TACC at 318.8 tonnes; Maintain the allowance for customary Māori fishing at 35 tonnes; Maintain the allowance for recreational fishing at 85 tonnes; and Maintain the allowance for other sources of mortality to the stock caused by fishing at 75 tonnes.
Southern rock lobster (CRA 8)	↑	Increase the TAC from 1,161.7 to 1,220.6 tonnes. Set the TACC at 1,129.6 tonnes. Maintain the allowance for customary Māori fishing at 30 tonnes. Maintain the allowance for recreational fishing at 33 tonnes. Maintain the allowance for other sources of mortality to the stock caused by fishing at 28 tonnes.
Top of the South Island sea cucumber (SCC 7A)	↑	Increase the TAC from 8 to 18 tonnes. Set the TACC at 15 tonnes. Maintain the allowance for customary Māori fishing at 1 tonne. Maintain the allowance for recreational fishing at 2 tonnes. Maintain the allowance for other sources of mortality to the stock caused by fishing at 0 tonnes.

Background to consultation

Fisheries New Zealand sought feedback on proposed changes to the sustainability measures for:

3 rock lobster stocks
one sea cucumber stock.

The consultation ran from the 18 December 2018 to the 12 February 2019.

How we developed the proposals

Every year we review catch limits for selected stocks. This is consistent with the requirement that Fisheries New Zealand ensures the sustainable use of fisheries resources.

The proposals for each stock were assessed:

in the context of the relevant statutory requirements
using the best available information, including the latest scientific information on the status of the stocks
with tangata whenua and stakeholder input.

The rock lobster proposals were guided by recommendations from the National Rock Lobster Management Group.

Find out about the group, its role, and members

Summary of proposed changes

A summary of proposals is in this table. Full details were in the consultation documents

Area	Change	Proposal summary
Gisborne rock lobster (CRA 3)	↓	Decreases to the total allowable catch and the commercial catch limit are proposed based on the operation of the agreed management procedure for CRA 3.
Wellington/Hawkes Bay rock lobster (CRA 4)	–	Increases to the total allowable catch and the commercial catch limit are proposed based on the operation of the agreed management procedure for CRA 4. A decrease is proposed to the other mortality allowance, to better reflect the estimate used in the stock assessment.
Southern rock lobster (CRA 8)	↑	Increases to the total allowable catch and the commercial catch limit are proposed based on the operation of the agreed management procedure for CRA 8.
Marlborough sea cucumber (SCC 7A)	↑	Increase proposed. Best available information suggests an abundance that will support increased utilisation.

Consultation documents

Rock lobster consultation document [PDF, 1.5 MB]
Sea cucumber consultation document [PDF, 664 KB]

Submissions are public information

Note, that any submission you make becomes public information and may be published. People can ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we have to make submissions available unless we have a good reason for withholding it. That is explained in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA.

Tell us if you think there are grounds to withhold specific information in your submission. Reasons might include that it's commercially sensitive or it's personal information. However, any decision Fisheries New Zealand makes to withhold information can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may tell us to release it.

The National Rock Lobster Management Group

The National Rock Lobster Management Group is a national-level, multi-stakeholder group comprising representatives of the customary, recreational and commercial fishing sectors, and Fisheries New Zealand. Since its formation in 1992, the National Rock Lobster Management Group has acted as an advisor to previous Ministers on catch limit, regulatory and other management actions that apply specifically to rock lobster fisheries. The National Rock Lobster Management Group is the longest standing collaborative multi-stakeholder group in New Zealand.

The National Rock Lobster Management Group has an independent chair, and Fisheries New Zealand supports the group by providing the secretariat as well as scientific and fisheries management advice.

Current members of the National Rock Lobster Management Group are representatives of: Te Waka a Māui Fisheries Forum, Te Ohu Kaimoana, NZ Recreational Fishing Council, the NZ Rock Lobster Industry Council, and Fisheries New Zealand.