A commercial fisherman in Napier has taken the unusual step of speaking out about wasteful practices in the industry. Rick Burch says he's sick of needlessly killing juvenile fish, and has developed a type of net he thinks can help.
Mr Burch is the first to admit that he's seen a lot of waste since first taking to the water in the 1960s.
"You step back and say, 'Do I really need to continue killing everything in the ocean?'"
But he says making just small alterations to the standard pattern of a fishing net would save fuel and help release young round fish like gurnard.
"What we've done is turn the diamond mesh net 45 degrees, and it's become square. That makes a bigger hole for the fish to get out."
Small fish can swim free before they're hauled on deck, where they'd normally die before being thrown back.
Hawke's Bay recreational fishers support the idea.
"The gurnard is our treasure," says Wayne Bicknell of the New Zealand Sports Fishing Council. "That is our snapper. That's what we value here. Rick's net lets the small ones go – the unmarketable, 200mm fish."
Trials of the altered net found it released up to 81 percent more unwanted fish than regular gear, which can trap even the smallest species.
"It's one potential tool that could be used for effective fisheries management that isn't being capitalised on at the moment," says fisheries scientist Oliver Wade.
The net technology is known internationally as "smart gear". The results of trials here have been shown to ministry officials. Mr Burch says they have shown little interest.
Four hundred and fifty tonnes of juvenile fish are wasted every year. That's the Government estimate, but industry sources tell 3 News the true amount is likely to be much more.
"The issue with fisheries is that it's hard to count the fish," says the Ministry of Primary Industries' director of fisheries management James Stevenson-Wallace.
"Trees stay in one spot. With fisheries, there is a lot of uncertainty, so that's the area where we do need to improve."
As for Mr Burch's net design, Mr Stevenson-Wallace says he's aware of it, but won't force the industry to use it.
"I'm not in the business of specifying what net a commercial fisher should use."
The ministry says regulating nets could stifle industry innovation, and New Zealand already has one of the best management systems in the world. Mr Burch doesn't agree, calling it "rubbish".
One of New Zealand's biggest fishing companies, Sanford, says it's investigating smarter nets, but isn't using them currently.
Mr Burch says he'll continue his work regardless, to ensure the small ones go back.
3 News
source: newshub archive
