An undemocratic inequity

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Re A. Casey’s letter, April 18.

You ask why commercial fishers can take 52mm concession crays when amateur fishers cannot — even if people legally own the fishery and not commercial.

You say the juvenile catch is down 80 percent, meaning the adult catch will be down in four to five years.

You ask why MPI do not supply the Gisborne Herald with results of their pot surveys.

Well, the answer is because MPI and the National Rock Lobster Management Group keep results hidden from the general public, which makes them the baddies.

Taking the small ones means they take far more per tonne of TACC (total allowable commercial catch). Their TACC is hundreds of tonnes.

They are on to a good thing — captured the fishery; don’t respect the concession rules, such as reviews agreed to every couple of years; and the Government even chops our daily allowance 50 percent, while commercial gets reduced much less.

This concession is only for Gisborne in the North Island.

The Guardians of Fiordland have agreement with commercial to keep out of the fiords. The fiords are for tourists, charters, amateur fishers and customary Māori fishing.

I am sure this undemocratic inequity will be addressed by the Ombudsman, as this is exactly the work he does.

Alain JORION

GTSFC life member