Commercial Fishers Welcome Measures to Address Polluted Waterways

New Zealand’s inshore fishery industry welcomes Government measures to improve the management of New Zealand’s lakes, aquifers and wetlands.

“Polluted waterways on the land lead to damaging consequences for our inshore fisheries,” says the Chief Executive of Fisheries Inshore New Zealand, Dr Jeremy Helson.

The Government is to be congratulated for these latest measures to clean up waterways on the land, he says.

Dr Helson was referring to announcement at the weekend by Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith, outlining 23 initiates to improve freshwater management including:

• National regulations to get stock out of waterways;
• Strengthening the national requirements on councils to set limits;
• Standardised water permit conditions on efficient use of water and minimising nutrient loss;
• Improved iwi involvement in council development of water plans and water conservation orders; and
• An additional $100 million clean-up fund for lakes, rivers and wetlands.

“Our industry has been concerned for some time about decreased water quality in our inshore fisheries impacting on fish stocks. This has been of particular concern in Hawke’s Bay where fishers have been reporting depleted fisheries around polluted freshwater tributaries into the Bay.

“Measures to address this are very welcome and will improve fishing for both commercial and recreational fishers in affected areas,” Dr Helson says.

 
For more details contact:
Dr Jeremy Helson on (021) 272 8727