Proposed law aims to reflect actual value based on manner of landing
Shane Jones, oceans and fisheries minister, has announced that the Fisheries Act Amendment Bill, expected to be introduced to Parliament early this year, will adjust the system for setting deemed values of fish stocks.
According to a news release from the government, members of the public can offer their input on the proposed legislation during the select committee process.
Jones noted that the planned changes to the system seek to better reflect the fish’s actual value based on its manner of landing, as well as promote a flexible and future-focused fisheries management system.
In its news release, the government explained that the system values the catch of commercial fishers who exceed their quota allowance and permits them to sell their catch, provided that they pay fees dubbed deemed values.
Under the current system, the fees generally reflect the fish’s market value, considering each stock’s sustainability and utilisation objectives.
According to the government, the system aims to ensure the landing of and accounting for all fish under the quota management system and prevent fishers from catching more than what would be sustainable.
The system applies the same deemed value rate for a fish stock to all commercial fishers.
“This means that a standard deemed value disadvantages some fishers because of differences in the value of fish based on whether they are landed fresh or frozen,” Jones said in the news release.
According to him, the consultation regarding broader fisheries reforms suggested that the one-size-fits-all approach to setting deemed values for fish does not benefit some productive commercial fishers.
In its news release, the government explained that smaller vessels around the coastline primarily catch inshore species, land the fish fresh, and charge a premium price. For these inshore stocks, the deemed values reflect the average market price associated with fresh fish.
Jones noted that fishers on long trips have increasingly been catching inshore species in deepwater areas and freezing their catch, which substantially lowers market value. However, as he explained, these fishers should still pay deemed values approaching the significantly higher market rate for fresh fish.
“The growing number and wider distribution of these inshore species makes their capture by deepwater freezer vessels more common which can have significant financial impact on these fishers,” Jones said in the news release.
He added that the proposed changes to the system will provide alternative deemed value rates for inshore stocks to reflect the actual value of the catch from deepwater freezer vessels.
Jones shared that he is awaiting advice regarding how the law will treat multiple other species of fish.
"As part of wider fisheries reforms, officials tested a proposal to allow for commercial fishers to land and sell marlin under strict conditions,” he said in the government’s news release. “At present, this is prohibited.”
Upon considering the potential benefits, Jones chose not to allow such fishers to retain and sell marlin bycatch.
