scholarly journals Seabird and Marine Mammal Bycatch Reduction Through Fishing Industry Funded Research: The New Zealand Conservation Services Levy Program

1999 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
West Ian F. ◽  
Janic Molloy ◽  
Michael F. Donoghue ◽  
Chris Pugsley

Since 1995 the New Zealand government has implemented a scheme to recover from the domestic commercial fishing industry the funding required to investigate and mitigate the impacts of fishing on protected species of marine wildlife. Conservation Services Levies are approved by the Minister of Conservation, administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and are collected by the Ministry of Fisheries. The levies are set annually following extensive consultation between the relevant government agencies and stakeholder groups. Levies are primarily used to boost observer coverage in selected fisheries, to monitor the status of protected species known to be incidentally taken in fishing operations, and to develop ways of mitigating the by-catch of species protected under the New Zealand Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978 and the Wildlife Act 1953. Conservation Services Levies provide a rare example in the global fishing industry of a transparent and accountable process, requiring the industry to pay at least part of the true environmental costs of its operation. It would be premature to suggest that the introduction of these levies has achieved a resolution of the various interactions between commercial fisheries and protected species of marine wildlife.

Author(s):  
Jeremy Hayman ◽  
Danae Anderson ◽  
Felicity Lamm

In 2008 there were approximately 3,500 registered commercial fishing vessels in New Zealand and 2,500 full­time employees working in the industry, a fraction of New Zealand’s two million plus labour force. However, in the Maritime New Zealand’s Annual Report 2000­2001 it was reported that New Zealand’s commercial fishing sector represented a disproportionately high number of maritime fatalities. With the exception of the 2007 fatality figures, the rate of Maritime New Zealand reported fatalities and accidents within the commercial fishing sector have remained fairly static. As a result, there have been a variety of initiatives implemented in this hazardous industry, for example, FishSAFE, and a number of reviews undertaken. However, unlike other sectors, implementing OHS interventions in the fishing industry has to account for a number of unique features such as the employment strata, geographical isolation of job, precariousness of employment, increasingly a diverse workforce and social issues such as substance abuse, and. This paper reports on preliminary findings based on interview data of employers and employees in the New Zealand fishing industry. In particular, it exposes a number of barriers to implementing and maintaining OHS measures, for example, increasingly tight profit margins, time pressures, and confusion around regulatory requirements. The initial findings also indicate that the command and control structure of managing staff in the fishing industry can influence individual and group perception and acceptance of risk. Finally, the paper highlights areas requiring further investigation.


<em>Abstract.—</em>The two main species of freshwater eels in New Zealand, the shortfin <em>Anguilla australis </em>and the endemic longfinned eel <em>A. dieffenbachii</em>, are extensively commercially exploited and also support important customary fisheries. Since there are no commercial glass eel fisheries in New Zealand, other indices must be used to indicate changes in recruitment over time. While there is some anecdotal evidence of reductions in glass eel recruitment, there is evidence of poorly represented cohorts of longfins within some populations, and modeling of these data indicate a substantial reduction in recruitment over the past two decades. Growth of both species is typically slow at 2–3 cm per year, meaning that both species are susceptible to commercial capture for many years until spawning escapement. Extensive commercial fishing has resulted in more substantial changes in length-frequency distributions of longfins than in shortfins; likewise, regional reductions in catch per unit effort are more significant for longfins. Theoretical models of silver eel escapement indicate that longfin females are especially susceptible to overexploitation. Shortfins would have been more impacted than longfins by loss of wetlands, but the impact of hydro stations on upstream access for juvenile eels and downstream access for silver eels would have been more severe for longfins. Overall, there is no clear evidence that the status of shortfin eel stocks has been seriously compromised by the extensive commercial eel fishery, but there is increasing evidence that longfins are unable to sustain present levels of exploitation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela M. Mace ◽  
Kevin J. Sullivan ◽  
Martin Cryer

Abstract Mace, P. M., Sullivan, K. J., and Cryer, M. 2014. The evolution of New Zealand's fisheries science and management systems under ITQs. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 71: 204–215. New Zealand implemented a comprehensive management system using individual transferable quotas in 1986 that has been instrumental in guiding the roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities of fisheries science, fisheries management, and the fishing industry ever since. However, at the time of the initial design, a number of issues were not adequately considered. These relate mainly to the dynamic nature of fish stocks, multispecies considerations, and environmental and other externalities. Subsequent efforts to address these issues have been challenging and many are not yet fully resolved. The outcomes for fisheries science, stock status, multispecies management, ecosystem effects, and fishing industry accountability have been mixed, although mostly positive. Fisheries science, fisheries management, and the fishing industry have all become much more professionalized and their activities have been increasingly streamlined. New initiatives to further improve the system continue to be researched and implemented. Overall, we believe that the positives considerably outweigh the negatives. The initial design has proved to be a system that can be built upon. Comparing New Zealand with most of the rest of the world, key positive outcomes for preventing overfishing are the current lack of significant overcapacity in most fisheries, the development of biological reference points and a harvest strategy standard, the favourable stock status for the majority of stocks with known status, and the development and implementation of comprehensive risk assessments and management plans to protect seabirds and marine mammals.


2016 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 73-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.G. Scrimgeour

This paper provides a stocktake of the status of hill country farming in New Zealand and addresses the challenges which will determine its future state and performance. It arises out of the Hill Country Symposium, held in Rotorua, New Zealand, 12-13 April 2016. This paper surveys people, policy, business and change, farming systems for hill country, soil nutrients and the environment, plants for hill country, animals, animal feeding and productivity, and strategies for achieving sustainable outcomes in the hill country. This paper concludes by identifying approaches to: support current and future hill country farmers and service providers, to effectively and efficiently deal with change; link hill farming businesses to effective value chains and new markets to achieve sufficient and stable profitability; reward farmers for the careful management of natural resources on their farm; ensure that new technologies which improve the efficient use of input resources are developed; and strategies to achieve vibrant rural communities which strengthen hill country farming businesses and their service providers. Keywords: farming systems, hill country, people, policy, productivity, profitability, sustainability


1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN C. YALDWYN ◽  
GARRY J. TEE ◽  
ALAN P. MASON

A worn Iguanodon tooth from Cuckfield, Sussex, illustrated by Mantell in 1827, 1839, 1848 and 1851, was labelled by Mantell as the first tooth sent to Baron Cuvier in 1823 and acknowledged as such by Sir Charles Lyell. The labelled tooth was taken to New Zealand by Gideon's son Walter in 1859. It was deposited in a forerunner of the Museum of New Zealand, Wellington in 1865 and is still in the Museum, mounted on a card bearing annotations by both Gideon Mantell and Lyell. The history of the Gideon and Walter Mantell collection in the Museum of New Zealand is outlined, and the Iguanodon tooth and its labels are described and illustrated. This is the very tooth which Baron Cuvier first identified as a rhinoceros incisor on the evening of 28 June 1823.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 290
Author(s):  
Giacomo Cremonesi ◽  
Francesco Bisi ◽  
Lorenzo Gaffi ◽  
Thet Zaw ◽  
Hla Naing ◽  
...  

The effects of human disturbance represent one of the major threats for wildlife conservation. Many studies have shown that wildlife avoids or reduces direct contact with human activities through changes in activity patterns, and by minimizing spatiotemporal overlap. In this study, we investigated the possible effects of human presence on the temporal activity of medium-to-large mammals using two areas in Myanmar that differ in the intensity of human disturbance. We monitored temporal segregation mechanisms using camera trapping data and with two statistical approaches: daily activity overlaps between humans and wildlife and circular statistics. We did not find a significant difference in overlapping activity between areas but, thanks to circular statistics, we found that some species show changes in activity patterns, suggesting temporal avoidance. We observed that the daily activity of five species differed between areas of Myanmar, likely adopting mechanisms to reduce overlap in areas highly frequented by humans. Interestingly, these species are all threatened by hunting or poaching activities, four of which have been described in literature as “cathemeral”, or species that are active through day and night. This study suggests that some species adapt their behavior, at least partially, to avoid human presence in habitats with higher anthropic occurrence and increase our knowledge on the status of medium–large mammals in a poorly studied country as Myanmar.


Polar Record ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Flamm

Abstract While the Antarctic Treaty System intended to keep Antarctica an area of international cooperation and science free from militarisation and international conflict, the region has not been completely shielded from global power transitions, such as decolonisation and the end of the Cold War. Presently, emerging countries from Asia are increasingly willing to invest in polar infrastructure and science on the back of their growing influence in world politics. South Korea has also invested heavily in its Antarctic infrastructure and capabilities recently and has been identified as an actor with economic and political interests that are potentially challenging for the existing Antarctic order. This article first assesses the extent and performance of the growing bilateral cooperation between South Korea and one of its closest partners, New Zealand, a country with strong vested interests in the status quo order. How did the cooperation develop between these two actors with ostensibly diverging interests? This article finds that what may have been a friction–laden relationship, actually developed into a win-win partnership for both countries. The article then moves on to offer an explanation for how this productive relationship was made possible by utilising a mutual socialisation approach that explores socio-structural processes around status accommodation.


AJIL Unbound ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 272-276
Author(s):  
Jérôme de Hemptinne

In times of war, the first instinct is to relieve the suffering of human beings. Environmental and animal interests are always pushed into the background. However, warfare strongly affects natural resources, including animals, which makes animal issues a matter of great concern. Certain species have been vanishing at a rapid rate because of wars, often with disastrous effects on the food chain and on the ecological balance. Indeed, belligerents rarely take into account the adverse consequences of their military operations on animals. They even take advantage of the chaotic circumstances of war in order to poach protected species and to engage in the trafficking of expensive animal products. While generating billions of dollars each year, such poaching and trafficking allows armed groups to grow and to reinforce their authority over disputed territory. States have also trained, and continue to train, certain animals—principally marine mammals such as bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions—to perform military tasks, like ship and harbor protection, or mine detection and clearance. Millions of horses, mules, donkeys, camels, dogs, and birds are obliged to serve on various fronts (transport, logistics, or communications) and become particularly vulnerable targets.


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