Author(s): Gareth Morgan & Geoff Simmons

New Zealand

We've been sold the idea that New Zealand has the best fisheries management in the world. This book sorts through the myths from the realities and finds that such an accolade belongs to only part of our fishery. And then who cares, if the global fishery scene is so dire, that it poses a threat to the ocean's biodiversity - and hence the ability of that ecosystem then having a part of New Zealand's fishery managed according to best practice, seems a little irrelevant. Like climate change the state of the global fishery is a global issue. The book begins by giving some context of how oceans work, and all the different factors that combine to produce a good fishing spot. It then looks at all of the impacts humankind has on the ocean in addition to fishing, which together threaten the ocean's delicate balance. With that in mind we move on to fishing and find that, left unchecked, fishing is a classic Tragedy of the Commons which ultimately leads to too many fishers, mortgaged to the eyeballs with too much gear, chasing too few fish. it's an economic and ecological disaster that has been repeated all around the world and even here in New Zealand. in the 80's we did lead the world by taking the bold step of closing the Commons and putting commercial fishing under the Quota management System. But since then we have rested on our laurels, and fallen behind. The world has moved on, and this has shown up some glaring flaws in the way we fish. Recreational fishing is still a free for all, and there are few controls on the environmental damage caused by the commercial fishing industry. It's time to take off the blinkers and with that wider perspective, first acknowledge that we are no longer doing such a great job, and then regain our world leadership.