New Zealand with the fourth largest economic zone on earth is facing a major dilemma with its vast fisheries. Being now essentially run by a handful of fishing families. That as an industrial fishing machine it still controls the narrative regarding fishing in NZ waters. There is a dimension of Maoridom who are responsible for managing Treaty of Waitangi Settlement assets, but regrettably the NZ Government's Ministry of Primary Industries - 'is captured' due to their inability to manage for example red snapper in NZ. But the whole much lauded 'Quota Management system, is a major failure.
Scott clearly states that for change to really happen - is that we need a crisis. This will then pull us all together to solve this huge out of control quota management system and all its attendant challenges. Quoting Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize winner in Economics 1976 - who declared - "Only a crisis - actual or perceived - produces real change."
He said that though the recreational fishing lobby took the establishment to the HighC, the Appeals Court, the Supreme Court winning each time - and being awarded costs and yet 'there was still no apparent change.'
He said that the recreational fisherfolk were learners in how to deal with the well financed fishing lobby - that it was just a battle!
In this interview we learn that fishing rights are now 'property rights', they are eternal.
Those who did the most damage to the fisheries - got the most reward.
This is totally incongruent with a democracy. NZers are being sold a lie.
Fishing companies are today getting poor economic returns. Poor returns for whanau and Maori Families.
No businesses have been established for Maori to be engaged in, since 1992 when the treaty settlement was signed. Only a handful of Maori businesses have come out of this - actually the system has gone about disestablishing small businesses and small scale anything.
This Scott says is the problem of this Neo liberal circus that is happening.
Scott encourages us to see YouTube - price of fish video - it's only 15 minutes - very important. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIQNDYoymMU
Precautionary approach to NZ fish stock is imperative
He states that we must now take on the precautionary principle in relation to fish stocks and that we can not go below 50% of the fish species that are being fished. Meaning 50% of the unfished biomass. That future generations are depending on the fidelity of the fishermen of today, be it Government, commercial or recreational.
He says that what is happening is that we 'manage' our fisheries - the 4th largest area on Earth and that it is based on computer models and on maximum sustainable yields. He says it's a fantasy and an illusion. (listen) - He says that as a country we have to find a way to replace these destructive fishing methods and management systems, as 'they' have had 40 years of opportunity (plunder) - but their days are over - they have taken the best that was and they have left the fisheries in a very sorry state. - listen.
Respect for all of nature
He further states - it is time now for us to have respect for these animals, respect for the environment, respect for our communities, we have to have employment in our regional areas, yet we need to have commercial fishing - but not in the senseless way is is exploiting the fisheries, the ocean and our collective future. Scott gives the two main supermarkets chains here in NZ a towelling for selling fish that is dead, ageing and devoid of life force. That we in NZ fool ourselves into thinking that we are eating fresh vibrant food from the marine environment.
Aquaculture - not necessarily a burgeoning industry.
It is not saving wild fish - but quite the reverse ... listen he will school you yet again. It's very polluting and the food the caged salmon is not wild, but processed food from man - with a smattering of wild fish thrown in to make it sound more legit. Green lip mussels in Scotts opinion is a very good choice - even though under the mussel farms there is a lot of excretions from the mussels on the seafloor.
Bottom trawling comes in for a hammering as well.
Tarikihi, Gurnard, and John Dory in the North island waters have been basically fished out and are no longer available to recreational fisher folk. - essentially gone ...
But snapper are a tough customer - they also spawn for months - they will eat anything - even themselves. They are fast, strong and robust. Scott says that fishermen often go out and if they catch 7 snapper - they are happy with that - but there are no other species - so if you are snapper centric - there are still a lot of them about - but that is it - only snapper - what's down beneath is very sparse when it comes to the other species ... where once had a wide variety of tasty fish.
No champions in the Government or Councils for the future of fish?
His question is - where have all the other fin fish assemblages gone? How come? They are definitely in trouble - and where are the defenders of all these disappearing fish. They too have gone? They are not in the Auckland Council ...
Where is our trevally? This story is a farce - they are 'dumping' hundreds and hundreds of tonnes of trevally into Saudi Arabia, France and the UK at $3.00 a kilo whole - and until recently the return was $2.00 a kilo. All (in Tim's opinion) under the auspices of an inept Department of Primary Industries aided and abetted by an unconscious Parliamentary process. That though they are our paid servants they have run away with their own Agenda ... (now what could that be?).
Cameras on trawlers ... is basically a non starter - the situation is not clear - poor focus - (have a listen). Observed behaviour is modified behaviour - but with no cameras they steam out of port over the horizon and they are a law unto themselves.
The Lobbying and power of the industrial fishing machine reaches deep down into NZ's Parliament and nullifies the idea of cameras and what we call - decent behaviour.
Daniel Pawley - from Canada and his offering - "the sea around us" http://www.seaaroundus.org/tag/daniel-pauly/ - found that trawler skippers were not telling the truth and that catches were 3 times or 2.5 times more that were reported.
https://www.youtube.com/c/OurPlanet/videos
Scott calls for a total closure of the intertidal zone - between high and low tide. A total Closure ...DO NOT TAKE A SINGLE LIVING ORGANISM in the area. That means nothing off the rocks or out of the sand for at least 5 years ...
The protection of the fragility and vulnerability of the intertidal zone requires some real leadership.
A rahui is the only way we can stop the killing of any sea animal in this zone!
Rahui is only a stop gap measure though.
Scott says he has far more faith in mana whenua and community working in cooperation than in any Governmental intervention. Means the indigenous people (Māori) who have historic and territorial rights over the land. It refers to iwi and hapū (Māori tribal groups)
This will have the full backing of the recreational fishing lobby, the NZ Angling and Casting Association, is 65 years old The NZ Underwater Association - 68 years old - Yachting NZ - Spearfishing NZ this is larger than one would think. With the NZ Sport Fishing Council there are 57 clubs with 37,000 members - Legasea.co.nz is embedded in all of this.
www.Kaiika.co.nz - where unwanted fish parts after they have been caught. Left over heads and frames that are healthy and edible and then finding a home for them where other people can cook and eat them so that no part of the fish will go to waste. See last interview.
So far 150,000 kilos over the last 5 years have found their way freely to welcome homes and families to eat. = no waste.
Moana Fishing company - www.Moana.co.nz - shares their off cuts of fish to the under-resourced and now Sanfords is coming on board ...
www.ScottSeafood.co.nz - in Henderson is helping too. (Listen to the interview).
Stopping Slave labour on overseas trawlers - is mentioned.
Auckland University Business School. Thank you Christine Stringer, Nigel Howarth, Hugh Whittaker and Glen Simmonds, for exposing this unsavoury practice.
GreenplanetFM.com do a search using the heading of ‘Fisheries Management’ - and you will get all of Scott’s interviews and also do one from Michael Field, who tells what has been happening in the Pacific and the layers of lies and distortions.
An excellent interview of Scott Macindoe - hitting home runs every few minutes.
www.legasea.co.nz
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/17/chinese-fishing-armada-plundered-waters-around-galapagos-data-shows