PRESS STATEMENT
11 February 2007

Shared Fisheries Worth $100 Million?

The spokesman for Te Atiawa Trust in Wellington, Morrie Love, said today that his iwi had very serious concerns over the nature of the Government’s shared fisheries plans.

“At the recent Te Ohu Kaimoana hui in Wellington over the shared fisheries plans, there was an understanding among iwi that the overall Maori share of this proposal could be worth about $100 million.”

“I find that staggering. The Minister has confirmed that he cannot reduce the amount of quota available to one sector of our fisheries and pass it onto another without paying compensation. So where is he going to find that amount of money?” Mr Love asked.

Te Atiawa attended the Shared Fisheries Hui hosted by Te Ohu Kaimoana in Wellington on Friday. Mr Love said there was unanimous opposition at the hui among iwi representatives. “Not one iwi was in favour of this proposal, with some saying that legal action might be necessary. But it certainly is difficult to glean the full impact of this proposal on the state of Maori commercial fisheries.”

“Iwi thought they had an agreement with the Crown. But if the Maori share of the fisheries discussed in the proposal is around $100 million then the Government’s going to have to find some way to cough up.”

Mr Love called on the Ministry of Fisheries to withdraw the shared fisheries proposal and instead institute a process of information gathering to determine the level of the recreational take.

“It’s time we had some accurate data on the level of recreational fisheries so we can use that to help formulate good policy. But this is not going to work by giving them hard-won Maori fishing quota,” Mr Love said.

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