Hoki Quota Cut

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.

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The large amount of bycatch in the hoki fishery has also been a point of contention by local NGOs.

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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.

"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!

By Matty Smith (not verified) on 25 Sep 2007 #permalink

Ugh. That came out garbled, but the gist is there.

By Matty Smith (not verified) on 25 Sep 2007 #permalink

fishing with nets should not be allowed ... let the oceans thrive as we kill the land .. leave something for the future

Yum delicious hoki. so so delicious

WOW Look at all the HOki You know thats what the Fil'oFish sandwitch is at McDonalds. Its made of Hoki. As for fishing with nets. Nothing wrong with it as long as you dont over fish. IF your going for Hoki toss back the fish that you catch that are not Hoki. Don't just let them die.

The good people at Green Peace can do all they like to save this species... but the truth is, once The Free Masons say "Hoki will be erased off the face of the earth for the sake of making (i.e.) Wendy's the continued almighty dollar," that's JUST what's going to happen. End of story.

By Tony's Wife (not verified) on 26 Feb 2010 #permalink

Some simple truths that for the most part are ignored:
1. There is not a shortage of fish, there is an excess of people.
2. The ocean is not an infinite source of food for humans as it can only sustain so much life.
3. The number of fish in all oceans has been on a steady decline due to polution in addition to that taken for food.
4. The demand for fish goes up every year as the population increases, and there is no slowup in human population growth.
5. Much of the fish either should be eaten only in limited quantities or not at all due to polution. (mercury in fish is one of the worst) This is for both freshwater and saltwater fish.
Bottom line is we are consuming this planets ocean food sources at a rate that is faster than they can be replenished. And, this is at our present population level. When the world population doubles, what will we do then? Sharks, because they only give birth to one or two young at a time are extremely vulnerable to this overfishing and will be one of the first to be made extinct by humans overfishing. We are pretty much doomed as when we reach the point that there is very little life in the sea we will find we cannot sustain the human populations with land food. So many humans in the world will be living on too much land that could be used to grow food. I'm glad I won't be here to experience the inevitable.

I think people differ greatly on this issue. For example, if it were completely unidentifiable as my own, I would have no problem with a picture of my naked ass being posted on the Internet. Others would be absolutely horrified by the prospect.

The good people at Green Peace can do all they like to save this species... but the truth is, once The Free Masons say "Hoki will be erased off the face of the earth for the sake of making (i.e.) Wendy's the continued almighty dollar," that's JUST what's going to happen. End of story.