NZ turns to cheap foreign boats to haul in the catch

Concerns have been raised over the proportion of New Zealand's commercial fishing catch being landed by foreign-owned boats, despite a gradual decline.

Figures released by the Ministry of Fisheries show 36 foreign-owned fishing boats caught 40 per cent of New Zealand's commercial catch in the 12 months from March 1, 2003, to February 29 this year.

The 1517 New Zealand-registered vessels accounted for the remaining 60 per cent of the catch.

The figures show a steady decline in the proportion of catch landed by foreign-owned vessels, with foreign boats having accounted for 51.2 per cent of catch in the 1993-1994 fishing year, and 44.4 per cent in 1998-1999.

"Privacy implications" prevented information being released about foreign ships' country of registration or partnership arrangements with New Zealand companies.

A Fisheries spokesman said the 28 trawlers, four bluefin longliners and four squid jiggers were all registered as foreign-owned, and fished in "commercial partnership" with domestic fishing companies.

A Fishing Industry Guild spokesman said a trend towards "New Zealandisation" was at risk of being reversed as companies looked to cheaper offshore operators to land their quota rather than relying on New Zealand resources.

He expected the number of joint-venture fishing arrangements to increase as domestic fishing companies tried to reduce costs, resulting in fewer jobs for New Zealand fishermen.

- NZPA