Labour Party Fisheries Policy commitments made by David Cunliffe Wednesday 10th September, 2014 As leader of the Labour Party I am happy to be held to the following commitments.

1. Labour is committed to rebuilding the fish stocks to a target stock size in line with contemporary international best practise. For many of our iconic inshore fisheries this is at or about 40% of the unfished biomass. Furthermore we commit to giving the recreational and customary fishers of New Zealand priority.

2. Labour will ensure stronger action by MPI on determining the effects of the various

commercial fishing methods and will move to eliminate methods that cause excessive wastage.

3. Labour supports recreational only reserves as part of a broader marine conservation plan but notes that the inshore Hauraki Gulf area has little commercial fishing pressure and the plan needs to be much broader.

4. We agree that there needs to be fairness in setting size limits for inshore fish species. Where

it can be shown that unequal size limits results in the commercial sector effectively being allocated more of the catch we will act to remedy this inequity.

5. A Labour Government will require MPI to assess and include the full economic value of the

recreational sector in any analysis for future fisheries management decisions. The recreational sector must be fully consulted in establishing the value of the economy of recreational fishing.