Benson-Pope David: Fisheries Amendment Bill (No 4) — Third Reading 
Benson-Pope David: Fisheries Amendment Bill (No 4) — Third Reading 
[Volume:619;Page:14677] 
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE (Minister of Fisheries) 
: 
 I move  
That the Fisheries Amendment Bill (No 4) be now read a third time 
. The bill amends the Fisheries Act 1966. It provides for the introduction of scampi into the quota management system on 1 October 2004—a key recommendation of the select committee report on scampi—and corrects the general problem with the current quota allocation mechanisms identified during the process of introducing North Island eels into the quota management system. 
Members have expressed some concern regarding the new quota management area 3 and area 4A boundaries for scampi. Scampi are currently managed within 10 fishery management areas that were set in the late 1980s. As part of the process to bring scampi into the quota management system the Ministry of Fisheries sought independent scientific advice on the best future management regime for the fishery. The proposed changes are based on the strong recommendations of that advice. Scientific analysis of catch rates by-catch and scampi biology provide evidence that scampi on the Mernoo Bank and the north-west Chatham Rise are one stock and should be managed as such. Under the old boundaries that stock is split in two. The benefit of the new management boundaries provided in this bill is that I can sustainably provide more quota than under the old boundaries because I can provide for new areas to be developed. To date fishers have taken sustainable catches of scampi mainly from one small part of the two existing management areas on the Chatham Rise. We know that the habitat and populations of scampi attend across a much wider area. The new management boundaries separate out the existing stock of scampi to allow better management and provide development of the fishery particularly in the waters surrounding the Chatham Islands. 
I have yet to decide on the new total allowable commercial catches in the proposed new areas 3 and 4A. The Ministry of Fisheries is currently finalising advice to me after consulting on a proposal to increase the catch limits in the new areas 3 and 4A from their current combined total of 310 tonnes to 460 tonnes. As a result of the boundary changes if the catch limit increases are implemented the amount of Crown quota available for tender in area 3 will more than double. There is also potential for quota to be allocated to the Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust under the new boundary arrangements. The amount if any of such quota will also ultimately depend on the total allowable commercial catch set for the new area 4A. 
In closing I need to comment on the personal price a number of senior staff in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and later the Ministry of Fisheries have paid in the course of this long debate. It is true that the State Services Commission investigation found no substance to the serious allegations that were made against those individuals. That is of course welcome. However the personal toll on the individuals and their families of living with such accusations hanging over them must be acknowledged. I thank those staff for their professionalism and integrity. 
I commend the bill to the House.