Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash. (Photo: Labour Party)
Minister rejects industry request on footage exempt
NEW ZEALAND
Friday, January 19, 2018, 03:00 (GMT + 9)
Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash is committed to achieve transparency in the fisheries management system, so he discarded a request from the fishing industry to exempt footage collected on boats, as the Official Information Act requires.
Last year, the Ministry of Primary Industries received a letter from the industry in which it maintained that videos collected on fishing boats could be requested under the Official Information Act by advocates of anti-piracy campaigns and used to damage their image.
The environmental organisation WWF-New Zealand welcomed the measure taken by Nash, and emphasized the importance to protect public access to information about commercial fishing using the Integrated Electronic Monitoring and Reporting System (IEMRS).
“It’s great to hear that the government intends to stand strong and defend some basic public rights and laws,” WWF-New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Livia Esterhazy said. “Ocean resources belong to the people of New Zealand – our fisheries are managed with public funds, which are intended to be managed in the public interest,” she added.
Esterhazy emphasized the importance of building a positive image on commercial fishing. This new monitoring system will allow the government to reach that objective.
According to Esterhazy, electronic monitoring of bycatch is vital to improve marine management, as it is a practice that threatens endangered marine species such as dolphins, albatrosses and sea lions.
A recent survey showed that 84 percent of New Zealanders want the government to work to reduce bycatch of marine mammals.
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