Ministry of Primary industry publishes review on Crayfish pot permits issued in the Controlled Area in Schooner Bay.
Following the discovery of commercial cray pots from an operator in Leigh in the Controlled Area Notice (CAN) around Schooner Bay, Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) engaged in a review of how the permits were issued.
“Essentially the review confirms that biosecurity NZ followed the letter of the law and did nothing wrong,” says Chris Ollivier Co-chair of the Aotea Caulerpa Response Team, which he believes to be, “completely ignoring the community and the incongruity of having a ban, then permitting commercial fishers to undertake banned activities”.
“The review found issuing permits for commercial rock lobster potting is not inconsistent with the intent of the response or purpose of the CAN, that issuing permits was an appropriate thing to do when examined through the lens of biosecurity risk management” concluded Chief Biosecurity officer Peter Thomson.
However, the review also concluded that “whether it was reasonable to issue the permits also needed to be informed by engagement with stakeholders and mana whenua.”
[…] those permitted to work in the controlled areas around Aotea, which we reported on in Issue 7 and 8, after the discovery of cray pots in the controlled area around Schooner […]