Exemptions for on-board cameras

Fisheries New Zealand considers requests for exemptions that are:

• sought due to the failure of existing camera equipment, or
• on other, more general grounds.

Equipment failure-related requests are treated with higher priority and follow an expedited process due to their greater urgency. The process around these aims to minimise the impact on fishers, while still ensuring the overall objectives of the on-board cameras programme are met.

Exemptions are often issued subject to conditions that will be monitored by fisheries compliance. The "Exemption conditions" section has examples.

Exemptions must be issued in writing and will have an expiry date. Fishers must carry a physical or electronic copy of any exemption that they are fishing under.

Exemptions can be revoked if circumstances change. All exemptions have provisions that will cause the exemption to be automatically revoked in certain circumstances.

This section outlines the provisions and requirements that apply when exemptions are sought due to a failure of any part of the camera equipment or some other aspect of the camera system.

• In cases of equipment failure, the fisher must notify MPI as soon as practicable by contacting Spark Business Group’s service desk on 0800 225 674. The service desk is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. This also meets the notification requirements under Regulation 11 of the electronic monitoring regulations.
• If the equipment malfunction occurs while a fishing trip is underway, the fisher is able to complete that trip as long as they notify MPI of the malfunction as soon as practicable in the regular course of that trip – they are not required to cut their trip short. (This is provided for in regulation 27.) Note that an exemption would be required for any subsequent trips if the malfunction can’t be repaired in time.
• If the malfunction occurs before the vessel has departed, the fisher will need to notify MPI (through Spark’s service desk) before leaving port. Spark will discuss the issue and assess the equipment failure. If the failure cannot be repaired before the next scheduled fishing trip, the service desk staff will then begin the exemption request process with MPI.
• Fishers are able to start their trip as soon as the exemption request has been submitted, while they wait for a decision to be made on the exemption request and, if approved, for the completed documents to come through. However, they will need to wait for the exemption to be issued before engaging in any in-scope fishing activity. Conducting fishing activity without an exemption is a breach of the electronic monitoring regulations.
• In these instances, the fisher will need to stay within cellular range so they can be contacted and follow any additional instructions (including returning to port if instructed to do so by MPI).

Where appropriate, an exemption may be granted with specific conditions attached. This helps ensure that:

• exemptions are no broader than necessary, and
• potential risks are reduced while the exemption is in place.

Where an exemption is granted with conditions, those conditions will be specified in the document, for example:

• Any circumstances in which the exemption is automatically revoked.
• Any relevant requirements on the fisher (such as continuing to operate any parts of the on-board system that are still working).
• The requirement to be operating a regulated GPR device as required by the Fisheries (Geospatial Position Reporting) Regulations 2017. (Note: fishers are unlikely to be exempted under the electronic monitoring regulations if their GPR device is not operating).
• Any geographic restrictions for certain fishing methods in areas of high risk to protected species while the exemption is in place.

If a fisher believes there is a legitimate reason to request an exemption on more general grounds, they can submit their request to MPI at onboardcameras@mpi.govt.nz

They will need to:

• explain why it's unreasonable or impractical for the vessel to comply with the on-board camera regulations
• provide supporting evidence.

MPI will review the request and aim to reply within 20 working days.