When will the fisheries madness end?
Last week the Government gave Maori 20% of marine farms and shortly they'll be giving Maori 20% of tuna caught outside
of New Zealand's exclusive economic zone.
"When will this madness end?" asks National's Fisheries spokesman, Phil Heatley.
The Government is legislating to include tuna into New Zealand's quota management system (QMS) determining how much fish
can be caught by our fishers, not only in our Exclusive Economic Zone but also on the high seas and other nation's
exclusive zones.
"There is no way you can interpret marine farming as a traditional Maori activity and no way that Maori would have been
off fishing for tuna more than 200 miles off shore.
"The Minister should be managing aquaculture and the fishing industry for all New Zealanders, not using our fishery as a
welfare cheque for Maori," says Mr Heatley.