The contentious certification of New Zealand hoki by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) just got a little more dubious. Yesterday, according to news from Intrafish, New Zealand cut its hoki catch quota 10% from 101,040 metric tons to 91,040 metric tons. The fishery was certified by the MSC back in 2001 for a yearly catch of 250,000 tons. Since then, the government has continuously curtailed the quota because the fishery continuously shows signs of decline. Hoki is New Zealand's most valuable commercial fish.
The large amount of bycatch in the hoki fishery has also been a point of contention by local NGOs.
Environment
Comments
The government has cut the quotas for many fish, some by 50%. This is good news IMO, as it will put less pressure on the already depleted fish stocks. One of the industry people said that this sort of this wasn't done anywhere else in the world, and I was left thinking more's the pity.
Posted by: chris | September 26, 2007 1:47 AM
"I was left thinking more's the pity."
Indeed. In the last two decades has been a tangible lowering of most fish stocks in the Hauraki Gulf in the 23 years that I've lived, and that's mainly due to recreational fishing. If New Zealand is good at maintaining its stocks, I hate to think what bad is!
Posted by: Matty Smith | September 26, 2007 4:04 AM
Ugh. That came out garbled, but the gist is there.
Posted by: Matty Smith | September 26, 2007 4:14 AM