Speech to Marlborough recreational fishers

Thank you for the invitation.

I'm happy to be here and encouraged to see a group of people willing to get involved in the future of the Marlborough Sounds' fisheries.

The Marlborough Sounds is very important to a wide range of people for a great many reasons.

Enjoying a day out on the water fishing is one of the most popular ways to make the most of this fantastic part of the country.

I see today's forum as an ideal opportunity to get discussion going on how to secure and improve that fishing experience into the future.

I'm sure everyone can agree on the importance of healthy fisheries in the Sounds for generations to come.

Recreational fishermen want little more than to be able to enjoy a day on the water and take home a good catch.

Meanwhile, businesspeople, like charter operators, need to make a living.

Achieving the balance between these two shared goals of health and sustainability is the challenge we face.

I would like to take the opportunity today to formally announce, and welcome, the formation of the Marlborough Sounds Blue Cod Management Group.

The group is made up of representatives from various recreational sectors of the Marlborough community.

It includes recreational fishers and charter boat operators.

The management group is tasked with working together with MFish and developing a plan for the future management of the Marlborough Sounds blue cod fishery.

Most of the members of the group are here today and I would like to introduce them. They are:

Chairman - Dave Scranney of the Ministry of Fisheries

Beryl Archer

Mark Baxter

Michael Hill

Eric Jorgensen and

John Duncan

As well as being on the management group, John Duncan also organised today's forum and brought us all together here.

I would like to thank John for his work to make all this happen.

I wrote to each of the management group members this week and thanked them for the commitment they are making.

They are volunteering their personal time and energy for the benefit of their community.

It is a very generous and community spirited thing they are doing and they should be applauded for it.

I hope they can rely on all of you here today to support them as they undertake this important work.

I would like to make it clear to all that the management group has my full support.

Their work will have a big impact on the future management of the blue cod fishery.

I believe only a small, focussed group is going to get a plan for the fishery developed in a decent timeframe.

However I have given them the ability to co-opt special insight or expertise from whomever they see fit to deliver a workable plan.

I understand how important the Sounds' blue cod fishery is to the Marlborough community, and I understand the depth of feeling over its management.

I want to see the four year closure lifted as early as possible, either fully or partially.

However, I am not prepared to lift the closure at all until we have a workable management plan developed and in place.

I have seen a number of scientific and anecdotal reports and I am satisfied that the blue cod fishery here was in decline and under pressure.

I know there are a variety of views on how great the decline was and what sort of pressure there was.

I also know there has been a lot of discussion about the process that led to the closure being put in place.

Another thing I know is that time and energy spent debating and re-litigating the closure is time not spent on developing a plan for the future and getting this fishery open again.

I've encouraged the group to consult wisely to make sure that we have the best chance of an effective and workable plan and a healthy blue cod fishery in the Sounds for generations to come.

Their plan will need to be easy for fishers to understand, and practical for them to use, while being straight forward for fishery officers to police.

In something of a landmark move for fisheries in New Zealand, the future of recreational blue cod fishing in the Marlborough Sounds will also include some form of simple and easy recreational catch reporting.

This will allow the Ministry of Fisheries to measure the success of what is implemented.

Knowing more about what is happening on the water and under the water will help ensure drastic steps like the current ban are rare in the extreme.

Today's forum is an ideal venue to start discussing the future of this fishery.

You have an interesting and knowledgeable panel of speakers arranged this morning and I will be interested in the ideas this afternoon's working groups and discussions come up with.

I am sure with the collective knowledge of the Sounds and experience on the water in the room today you will be able to come up with some good ideas and worthwhile suggestions.

I wish you all the best for today's programme and I look forward to hearing about the outcomes of your discussions.