Media release from Te Ohu Kaimoana (Maori Fisheries Trust)
Te Ohu Kaimoana welcomes release of Ministerial Panel report
Te Ohu Kaimoana (the Maori Fisheries Trust) welcomed the release of the report from the Ministerial Inquiry into the use
of Foreign Charter Vessels in New Zealand’s deepwater fishery
Maori settlement quota accounts for less than 10 per cent of all deepwater quota and this could never be greater than
17% of the deepwater fish caught by FCVs.
Chairman Matiu Rei said that Te Ohu Kaimoana was likely to be supportive of the Government’s decision to
accept-in-principle the first six recommendations made by the Ministerial Panel. These appear to be sensible measures to
fine-tune the existing mechanisms to ensure the regime is effective.
The other recommendations seem more far-reaching and like the Government Te Ohu Kaimoana needs time to fully assess
those recommendations. “We consider the Panel deserves the courtesy of us reading and assessing the full detail of their
130-page report before responding. When we have completed that, we intend to provide advice to iwi quota owners who will
also need to understand the full implications of what the report means for their fishing businesses,” Mr Rei said.
Te Ohu Kaimoana will work with the relevant government agencies and other members of the fishing industry to provide iwi
with a full assessment of the proposals.
ENDS