Nearly two dozen leaders representing fishermen, processors and advocacy groups from the United States got a close look at New Zealand’s quota management system (QMS) during a six day visit to New Zealand in March. John Stumbos from the University of California’s Sea Grant Extension Programme joined the tour.

The educational tour was organised by Dr Chris Dewees, a marine fisheries specialist with the California Sea Grant Extension Program housed at the University of California. Chris has devoted three sabbatical leaves to New Zealand since 1986 to study the effects of the QMS on fishermen and companies [see Seafood New Zealand February 2006 issue, page 18].

“The quota management system has attracted a great deal of interest in the United States as Americans wrestle with many of the same issues New Zealanders have had to cope with, such as rebuilding fish stocks, complex government regulation and overcapitalisation,” Chris explains. “This tour was designed to create a dialogue with those directly in the industry to learn from New Zealand’s pioneering 20-year experience.”

The Americans heard first-hand from New Zealand fishermen who have remained in or left the fleet; from companies who have grown under QMS; the complexities of government compliance and enforcement issues from Ministry of Fisheries officials; and about the hands-on, industry-funded approach to stock assessment employed by the National Rock Lobster Management Group and the enhancement work of Challenger Scallop/Finfish, Ltd.

They also met with personnel from SeaFIC and FISHSERVE to see how important industry-wide support is handled in New Zealand. From the leaders of Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd (AFL) and Te Ohu Kaimoana they learned how Maori have successfully fought for quota share and have shaped their operation into a coolly efficient corporate model.

Rodney Avila, a veteran fisherman of more than 40 years in New Bedford, Massachusetts and a member of the New England Fishery Management Council, asked Sanford managing mirector Eric Barratt what advice he had for the group. “Allocation – working out the shares. That’s the biggest fight. Get it over with early,” he said. “Point two is you’ll have to absorb the costs of doing business (cost recovery etc). My message to you is to be prepared to take on those responsibilities.”

Richard Wells, Moana Pacific Fisheries, advised the American fishing representatives to ask the tough questions about adapting “the New Zealand experiment” to the US. “Don’t just do it because New Zealand has done it. The underlying reason is to create value,” he said. “The big question for you is who gets quota. The whole allocation thing is difficult, to put it mildly.”

Robert Baines, a commercial lobsterman from South Thomaston, Maine, inquired about stock assessments. Daryl Sykes, executive officer of the New Zealand Rock Lobster Council and a number lobster working group members walked the visitors through research and development innovations utilised in tagging, tracking and monitoring lobsters used in stock assessments.

“I see a lot of pros and cons in this system,” Robert said later. “It prohibits people without any financial resources from getting into business. To buy lobster quota in New Zealand costs $200,000 a tonne. A young man who wants to go into lobster fishing with his own boat, it seems extremely prohibitive.”

A number of people in the American entourage wanted to know how fishing communities have been affected by the changes in New Zealand’s QMS system. “I’m not sure how we could adapt this system to New England,” said Jan Margeson, an independent owner-operator from Cape Cod in Massachusetts. “New England is all small, independent owners. Here, it seems the independent boat owners have been eliminated. It’s going to be difficult to adapt.”

In Wellington the group visited with the leadership of Te Ohu Kaimoana to learn how quota is distributed to tribes and with Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd to see how the primary Maori fisheries corporation manages its fisheries assets. AFL CEO Robin Hapi explained the origins of Maori culture and how they relate to corporate values and governance, something of interest to members of the American delegation.

“I came to New Zealand to see both the good and the bad of how fisheries quotas have impacted the fisheries of the South Pacific, but I also wanted to learn how New Zealand has addressed the issues of rights for native people,” said Charles Hanson, a fisherman in Alaska for many years and current president of the Pacific Marine Conservation Council.

The New Zealand tour was made possible by California Sea Grant and three foundations with an interest in sustainable fisheries: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Sand County Foundation, Alex C Walker Foundation.

— John Stumbos

Seafood New Zealand magazine. April 2006.