Development of the New Zealand fishery and the influence of the Japanese 1959-86

Abstract

The period from the late 1950s to the mid 1980s witnessed a huge increase in the use of the fish resources in the seas adjacent to New Zealand. Previously, and in relative terms, only a small amount of fish had been taken, primarily to satisfy local demand. In the vanguard of the new use of the fishery in the late 1950s were Japanese fishing interests. In some respects these Japanese fishers should have acted as a catalyst for New Zealand to likewise benefit and develop an economically efficient and sustainable fishing industry using the piscatorial resources close to her shores as well as further afield. However, notwithstanding the active encouragement of several experts, the recommendations of a number of official reports plus pressure from the nascent domestic fishing industry itself, it is contended that New Zealand was slow to respond to the challenge to reap economic benefits efficiently from the fishery resource. The following work seeks to explain in broad terms the development and evolution of the New Zealand fishing industry and the part played by the Japanese and their fishing interests in the period under review. There is both a story to tell and an idea that New Zealand was slow to take advantage of her relatively abundant fishery resources and turn them to her economic advantage. This work frames the hypothesis and uses collected data with a view to establish the validity of the contention that New Zealand was slow to develop an economically efficient and sustainable fishing industry, utilising the fish stocks in her adjacent waters, given the lead provided by the Japanese. Bullock, Allan and Trombley, Stephen (eds), The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought, Harper Collins, Third Edition, London, 1999, p. 250. At the beginning of the period under investigation the potential importance of the fishing industry to earn foreign exchange was not necessarily recognised by many policy makers and those in authority. What is particularly noteworthy is the lack of a grand design by New Zealand to maximise economic benefits from the fishery, especially given the exhortations of informed observers for the economy to diversify into new endeavours. Some reasons for these circumstances will be addressed and discussed. It is not the purpose of this work to explain the reasons why Japanese fishers were active in New Zealand waters other than in passing reference. That subject merits an in-depth study in its own right and in the context of Japan's role as a "Distant Water Fishing Nation" (DWFN). In orchestrating this thesis there are several subjects that run through the work and which in themselves are worthy of further investigation. They include the sometimes opposing forces of conservation and sustainable use of the fishery resource, the discovery of new species of fish to harvest, the appreciation of the need for scientific research, the ongoing development of the Law of the Sea and finally the necessity for constant vigilance and flexible stewardship practices in the management of fish resources.