New Zealand are leaders when it comes to fishery management. In fact, New Zealand's Fisheries Management System has been commended and replicated by many countries around the world.
But What is QMS?
The Quota Management System (QMS) allows fishers to own or lease the right to catch a specific quantity of species of fish. Every fish species has a Total Allowance Catch (TAC) and every fisher/organisation has a portion of that allowance. There are currently 642 fish stocks that represent 620,000 tonne of fish.
How Quota Works.
Quota is an equitable share that can be bought and sold. Every year, quota owners get the right to catch a certain number of fish stock, often referred to as Annual Catch Entitlement (ACE). The amount of ACE quota may vary from year-to-year depending on the Total Allowable Commercial Catch. Quota owners can fish the stocks themselves or lease their quota to fishers. If fishers do not have enough ACE to cover the fish they catch they can face penalties via the Ministry for Fisheries.
Monitoring QMS
In order to monitor New Zealand fisheries and the fish stocks caught, the QMS requires detailed reporting from both fishers and licensed receivers.
As per the Ministry for Fisheries guidelines, Commercial Fishers must report their "catch, effort and landing returns for each trip". While licensed receivers must report "the amount of types of fish received in the previous month and provide details regarding the commercial fishers that supplied it".
Why QMS & Reporting is Important.
The Quota Management System encourages sustainable fishing and a healthy ecosystem in which the species thrive in. Monitoring fish stocks by accurate reporting from commercial fishers and receivers prevents stocks from depletion and safeguards that fish species stay in New Zealand waters for future generations to enjoy.
You can read more about the Quota Management System here.
Our Part.
We, at Ezifish, aren’t just thinking about right now but thinking of your bellies in the future and children’s future. We believe in giving back to the sea with catch that is too small, sometimes too big, and too many to make sure we are doing our part to sustain our fishery and keep ourselves and many others in a job.
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