Recreational fishing is a popular activity in New Zealand and other coastal nations. Each year, sizeable portions of any nation’s population fish to catch a feed or simply relax and unwind outdoors.
New Zealand’s recreational fishers must share fisheries resources with commercial and customary fishing interests. Each interest desires similar outcomes regarding adequate access to sustainable, abundant fisheries now and in the future.
However, tensions and conflicts can occur whenever access is impaired and resource abundance is compromised; a potential notable cause being Government and public interest in increased marine protection (e.g., Otago and Catlin coasts).
Fortunately, South Island fisheries are well known for the varied fishing interests working collaboratively towards shared outcomes. They realise that reliable and timely catch, effort and catch location data is critical to improving the management of shared fisheries.
While data on commercial and customary catches must be reported, there is no requirement to report recreational catch data. Obtaining estimates of recreational catches is inherently challenging.
Unlike New Zealand, some coastal nations obtain low-cost, reliable and timely recreational catch estimates because they have developed comprehensive databases, or registers, of those who participate in fishing.
Since New Zealand has not invested in a recreational fisher database, considerable time and money is expended just to find enough recreational fishers who are prepared to be involved in a year-long, telephone-diary survey to collect data.
The primary method for collecting recreational data is the National Panel Survey (NPS). The NPS is household-based, meaning that recreational fishers are found by randomly selecting households and eliciting survey participation in each household.
One downside to this methodology is that it is difficult to achieve the sample size required for accurate estimates of catch and effort and at appropriate spatial scale.
For example, the NPS randomly selects and contacts households until there are 5,000 to 7,000 participants in the survey, which equates to only 1% of the total estimated number of fishers.
In other words, data from 1% of fishers is extrapolated to estimate 100% of the catch by region and nationwide; this methodology is inherently problematic due to the small sample size and resulting inaccuracies and untimely estimates (the NPS is undertaken every 5 to 6 years due to its high cost).
Nonetheless, the NPS remains the primary data collection methodology, which costs $5 to $6 million per survey, and most of these funds are spent finding randomly selected households with a willing survey participant.
Another downside is that the NPS’ catch estimates are less accurate because household-based surveys cannot account for transient fishers. Several South Island regions have at-risk fisheries that are exposed to significant recreational effort by those who live in other regions.
Fish Mainland considers the best long-term solution is the use of a comprehensive database of those who participate in recreational fishing.
That way, more frequent and lower-cost surveys can be undertaken that provide more reliable and timelier (seasonal) recreational catch estimates at various management scales (e.g., paua QMAs, blue cod zones, mataitai reserves, etc.).
The much-needed database is already in place because of South Island fishers using the Mainland Catch app. Fish Mainland recently developed the app with the expertise of Fisheries New Zealand and the financial support of the Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures fund (MPI).
And the easy-to-use Mainland Catch app, along with its database capability, has been developed for a fraction of the cost of a single NPS.
So, the best solution for improved fisheries management is ready and waiting for Fisheries New Zealand to publicly promote its use. Like us on facebook.com/fishmainlandnz and become a member at www.fishmainland.nz
