12. Question No. 12—Oceans and FisheriesHon EUGENIE SAGE (Green) to the Minister for Oceans and FisheriesQuestion No. 12—Oceans and Fisheries12. Hon EUGENIE SAGE (Green) to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries: Kia orana. Why is keeping the Total Allowable Catch for snapper at its current level not one of the options that MPI is proposing for the North Island's west coast fishery and does this show that maximising commercial fishing is more important to MPI than sustaining the recovering snapper population?Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister for Oceans and Fisheries): The rebuild of snapper stocks in Snapper 8 (SNA 8) is a good-news story. There is no doubt that the Snapper 8 stock was in a very bad place when the Quota Management System was introduced in the late 1980s and by the mid-2000s the stock was very likely below what we would now consider to be a hard limit. Sixteen years later we're in a significantly different place. A stock assessment completed this year estimates the stock to be at 54 percent of the unfished level well above the harvest strategy standard management default target. The advice I have: that it is appropriate to now consider increasing catch limits in some way. Fisheries New Zealand is consulting on four options for new catch limits and allowances in SNA 8. The final decision will not necessarily be identical to any one of the options. In answer to the second part of the question: with respect of course not.Hon Eugenie Sage: Does he agree with Fisheries New Zealand policy that once a fish stock recovers to just 54 percent of its estimated unfished population its total allowable catch (TAC) could be increased by as much as 133 percent; if so why?Hon DAVID PARKER: I'm not going to comment as to what my opinion is as to where the catch limit should be set. I have to take that decision at the end of consultation and I don't think it would be in the public interest for me to comment further in the meantime.Hon Eugenie Sage: Does he agree that since west coast snapper stocks have taken many years to rebuild after collapsing now is the time to sustain those stocks rather than allowing them to be overfished again; if not why not?Hon DAVID PARKER: I would be failing in my duty if I allowed those stocks to be overfished again and the House can be assured that I will not allow that.Hon Eugenie Sage: What scientific evidence if any has he seen to support MPI policy that the management target for snapper in Snapper 8 should be just 40 percent of its unfished biomass?Hon DAVID PARKER: I've seen a range of advice in favour of that proposition and different propositions.Hon Eugenie Sage: Will the Minister consider amending the Fisheries Act to set a minimum biomass target of at least 50 percent for all fisheries as suggested by the recreational fishing group LegaSea; if not why not?Hon DAVID PARKER: I'm not currently considering such a proposition but that doesn't mean to say I won't in the future.Hon Eugenie Sage: Will he seek advice from the Department of Conservation and Fisheries New Zealand on the impacts of increased commercial fishing around Kāpiti Marine Reserve on fish numbers within the reserve before he makes a decision on setting the TAC in line with the concerns of local community members and marine biology experts?Hon DAVID PARKER: I expect that all relevant matters will be brought to my attention through submissions and by the department.