Minister's decisions
Consultation has closed and the Minister for Primary Industries has made decisions on sustainability measures for selected fishstocks for the 2015-16 fishing year beginning 1 April 2015. This includes decisions relating to total allowable catches (TACs), non-commercial allowances, total allowable commercial catches (TACCs), and deemed value rates.
The Minister’s decision letter provides the details of, and reasons for, each of his decisions.
In summary, the Minister has decided to:
| Area | Decision summary |
|---|---|
| Northland rock lobster (CRA 1) |
Set the CRA 1 TAC at 273.062 tonnes, set allowances for customary Māori of 20 tonnes, recreational of 50 tonnes and other sources of fishing-related mortality at 72 tonnes. The current TACC will be retained at 131.062 tonnes. A new management procedure (called 'Rule 9d') has also been agreed for use in guiding CRA 1 TAC setting for the next five years. |
| Gisborne rock lobster (CRA 3) |
Use a new management procedure (called 'Rule 4') to guide the setting of the CRA 3 TAC for the next five years. The use of the new procedure results in no change to the current TAC, allowances or TACC for CRA 3. |
| Canterbury/Marlborough rock lobster (CRA 5) | Retain the current CRA 5 TAC, allowances and TACC. |
| Otago rock lobster (CRA 7) |
Increase the CRA 7 TAC from 86 to 117.72 tonnes and the TACC from 66 to 97.72 tonnes. No changes will be made to the non-commercial allowances. |
| Westland/Taranaki rock lobster (CRA 9) |
Retain the current CRA 9 TAC, allowances and TACC. |
| Bounty Platform southern blue whiting (SBW 6B) | Decrease the SBW 6B TAC from 7,000 to 3,000 tonnes, the TACC from 6,860 to 2,940 tonnes, and the allowances for other sources of fishing-related mortality from 140 to 60 tonnes. |
| All giant spider crab stocks (GSC) | Decrease the deemed value rates for all GSC stocks. |
Decision documents and submissions
- Minister’s decision letter [PDF, 685 KB]
- Bounty Platform southern blue whiting fishery decision document
- Giant spider crab deemed value rates decision document
- National Rock Lobster Management Group decision document
- Rock Lobster submissions received
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) sought feedback from tangata whenua and stakeholders on proposals to review sustainability measures for selected fish stocks for the 2015-16 fishing year, beginning 1 April 2015.
- Stakeholder consultation letter [PDF, 2.3 MB]
1. Rock lobster
The multi-stakeholder National Rock Lobster Management Group (NRLMG) is proposing for the following rock lobster fisheries that:
CRA 1 (Northland): a total allowable catch and non-commercial allowances are set for the first time and the commercial catch limit is increased or retained, based on the use of a new management procedure; and
CRA 3 (Gisborne): retain the current total allowable catch and commercial catch limit based on the use of a new management procedure;
CRA 5 (Canterbury/Marlborough): decrease the total allowable catch and commercial catch limit; and
CRA 7 (Otago): increase the total allowable catch and commercial catch limit; and
CRA 9 (Westland/Taranaki): decrease the total allowable catch and commercial limit.
2. Southern blue whiting
MPI is proposing to decrease the total allowable catch for southern blue whiting.
3. Giant spider crab
MPI is proposing to review the deemed value rates for all giant spider crab stocks.
Making a submission
All submissions must be received by MPI no later than 5 pm Tuesday, 17 February 2015.
Written submissions should be sent directly to:
Email: FMSubmissions@mpi.govt.nz
Post: Fisheries Management
Ministry for Primary Industries
P O Box 2526
Wellington 6140
