Volume One 13. Use of the Coastal Environment Fishing The waters of the Marlborough Sounds are important for fisheries for a number of reasons, including: • an ongoing source of traditional food for Marlborough’s tangata whenua iwi; • providing a livelihood for commercial fishers; • being a significant factor in many recreational and tourism activities; and • contributing to a range of species present in the Sounds and therefore the health of marine ecosystems. (For the purposes of the MEP, 'fishing' does not include marine farming.) Although commercial fishing is not as significant as it once was, collectively fisheries are still important to Marlborough’s overall community wellbeing. There are significant restrictions on the ability of the Council to control outcomes for fisheries management, as the Ministry for Primary Industries holds the primary role in managing, conserving and enhancing fisheries under the provisions of the Fisheries Act 1996. However, although managing fisheries is not a direct function of the Council, it is responsible for protecting habitats of indigenous fauna and maintaining indigenous biological diversity under the RMA. The Council can therefore indirectly help to maintain and enhance wild fisheries in the Marlborough Sounds by managing any adverse effects on marine habitats caused by activities over which it does have direct control. Policies within Chapter 15 - Resource Quality (Water, Air, Soil) and Chapter 8 - Indigenous Biodiversity are particularly relevant in this regard. Issue 13C – The depletion of wild fisheries in the Marlborough Sounds. Maintenance of traditional access to fisheries is of particular importance to Marlborough’s tangata whenua iwi. There is particular concern that traditional fisheries are being depleted. Under fisheries legislation, taiapure, rāhui and mataitai are three mechanisms by which tangata whenua can seek greater control of the management of local customary fisheries. Though the Council has no statutory role in either the establishment or management of these mechanisms, it may choose to support an application after consultation with interested parties. Although the number of commercial fishers has decreased over the years, fishers with quota for various species still operate from Picton, Havelock and other ports. While numbers can fluctuate in response to economic circumstances, recreational fishing and diving are important recreational pursuits for Marlborough residents and visitors to the Marlborough Sounds. For a number of years there has been ongoing community concern over the state of fish and shellfish stocks in the Marlborough Sounds and the sustainability of the recreational fisheries that they support. [RPS, C] Objective 13.4 – The sustainable management of fisheries in the Marlborough Sounds. Despite not having a direct statutory role in managing fisheries (except to the extent outlined above), the Council believes it has an advocacy role in ensuring there is sustainable fishery in the Marlborough Sounds. This is because fishing activities, whether recreational, commercial or traditional in nature, contribute to the economic, social, cultural and general community wellbeing of Marlborough’s residents and visitors. It is therefore appropriate that the MEP includes an objective to ensure the management of fisheries resources is sustainable. 13 – 11