The Historical Development of Fisheries in New Zealand with Respect to Sustainable Development Principles

Abstract

"The seafood sector has been a major contributor to New Zealand export revenue over a number of decades, and the sector is presently the fourth largest export earner behind the dairy, meat and forestry sectors. New Zealand�s wild harvest fisheries have transformed from small-scale almost artisanal fisheries, to well-established domestic inshore fisheries, and are now sophisticated export fisheries dominated by catches of deepwater species. Similarly, much of New Zealand�s fledgling aquaculture sector commenced only a few decades ago with a series of government-led research projects that spawned private sector investment, initially through the entrepreneurial activities of a small number of pioneering individuals, some of whom remain as major figures in the aquaculture sector. Of interest in the New Zealand case is the fact that due to the isolated nature of the majority of wild stocks, the fate of the fisheries has been largely determined by New Zealand policies and local responses to external markets. In other words, unlike the majority of large global fisheries, the fate of the fisheries have not been strongly influenced by the direct harvesting actions of neighbouring nations (with the exception of several sporadic examples such as the early Australian-based whaling vessels, as discussed below)."