https://legasea.co.nz/
For decades he through his superb communication skills has brought together many local and seaside people across NZ to organise and come together - including Maori (mana whenua) - to advocate and campaign to ‘our' NZ government and the fishing industry for a more fairer deal for all people who love to fish. This has in many ways become a battle for the soul of New Zealand’s vast fisheries.
The Supportive Players
NZ Angling and Casting Association
NZ Underwater Association
Yachting NZ
Plus many other clubs that are not affiliated to the sport fishing council - like
The Outboard Boating Club of Auckland.
Since the time of Maori and over the last 250 years with the coming of the European the ability to catch fish off the seashore or in a small boat and bring home food for the family to eat and surplus for neighbours was just a standard neighbourly thing to do. But, Scott says that 'sharing of ones catch is a primary source of self esteem and self worth.'
Saying that this has an important part to play in our mental health as well. Of being part of a community and the sharing of goodwill.
A local Ngāpuhi friend (from Northland) calls taking a bin full of fish to his neighbours as a ‘maximum mana enhancement’ - a situation when driving home after fishing to be able to stop and knock on the door of a kuia and a kaumatua ( wise elder woman leader and wiseman elder leader) - offering them the opportunity to acknowledgement that elder in the spirit of goodwill. A fish (ika) and a gift (taonga) - Scott said he can not over emphasise this cultural importance.
Today this is continued in a very innovative and sharing way https://kaiika.co.nz and https://www.freefishheads.co.nz
This is a sharing and contribution to allow people to receive a fish head or frame that still has a lot of flesh on it, and utilise it for food and a means to not waste any part of the fish.
Called the trifecta of respect …
Respect for the animal - the fish that has given its life - respect for community and fellow man and … self respect and acknowledging that you have done the right thing.
This cooperative initiative is making headway - and over 60,000 kilograms of heads and frames have found their way to homes that want fresh protein
Scott says kudos goes to the Auckland Outdoor Boat Club for being the pilot for this to come into being and taking it seriously whilst committing significant resources to allow this to happen. https://www.obc.co.nz/
He also gives thanks to the Papatuanuku Kokiri Marae Whanau in Mangere, Auckland who’ve made many 100’s of collection trips to make this happen by distributing to families who really appreciate fish heads and need it as the health giving properties of fresh ocean fish are so beneficial.
https://kaiika.co.nz/marae-on-a-mission-reconnecting-the-community-to-healthy-food/
Educating, Learning and Knowing.
Scott says - 'you do not manage fisheries - you manage people’ and to have them better understand what’s at stake and contemplate and consider shifting their attitudes, expectations and behaviours. He says if that is the measure of success - then he feels very comfortable where LegaSea has evolved to on that side of the ledger.
Connecting with the wider community where food, health and goodwill combine together.
Scott acknowledges the leaders of the Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Kuri and Ngātiwai who have so generously shared their accumulated knowledge, their Mātauranga (can be defined as 'the knowledge, comprehension, or understanding of everything visible and invisible existing in the universe', and is often used synonymously with wisdom - over numerous generations.
They have taken Scott and friends into their houses - whare and onto their marae - meeting area - over 20 times for overnight stays and 30 to 40 times at specific hui’s or meetings.
They have taken Tauiwi – (people coming from afar) into the Maori realms or the phenomena of Manaakitanga (hospitality), Kaitiakitanga (guardianship and protection) and Rangatiratanga (often translated as 'self-determination or sovereignty). These being value systems that drive Te ao Maori (the Maori world view)
That only when one grasps the fundamentals of feeding of the visitor - to manaaki manuhiri - the obligation to take care of guests, do we deepen our understanding. ... listen
All of this effort is driven by a sense of rangitiratanga - an aspiration to lead by example based on inherited knowledge ..
Scott said he is running with this statement - because he and the LegaSea crew are totally committed to restoring abundance of fish in our seas and ensuring future generations get a fair go.
Stating emphatically - There is no conflict in abundance.
The NZ Quota Management Fishing System
Scott now turns his attention to the NZ Fish Stock Quota System that is creating total havoc within our fisheries.
And he mentions that he is hardening up the language in relationship to this kaupapa - ( topic, policy, matter for discussion, plan, purpose, scheme, proposal, agenda, subject, programme, theme, issue, initiative.)
As this present unsustainable fishing program that is overseen by the NZ Government - is leading us all in a race to the bottom.
That we in NZ have somehow or another - sold the lie to the rest of the world that we have some-how the best, world leading fisheries management system - has to be seen for what it is - a gigantic lie.
He said we are on the way to an unavoidable end game ...
Sustainable Depletion - how can we take as much as possible yet still just keep enough fish in the water until next year?
Our hapuka and bass are gone
Our trevali are decimated
Our John Dory, Gurnard and Tarakihi stocks are ridiculously over allocated and yet, unable to be caught.
Deploying Destructive Extraction Technologies
Fishing boats are using the most sophisticated technology that man can devise - with the incredible power of GPS and sonar and military technologies that have been modified and co-opted and used to catch fish by industrial bulk harvesting, indiscriminately. -
He states this is unacceptable.
Trawling technologies seining and dredging especially the trashing of the underwater environment by dragging nets and bottom trawling - scooping up all kinds of sea life. This is destroying coral and other three dimensional elemental ecological life forms growing on the sea bed - in a swath of waste and destruction across huge areas of the sea floor. (Much like how they do it is tropical rainforests with giant chains pulled between massive bulldozers, levelling everything in between).
Then the net is all pulled in and suddenly it's all over - everything is crushed - shattered - nobody is there to count or mourn the loss of mega billions of tiny little underwater creatures - never to see there life out where they are.
Property Rights
Scott says it's because the industry sees property rights is the only way to go. Enabling industry to make decisions - have ‘happy' business - small government - let the market take care of big decisions, everything will be good in the water garden - what a lot of … Listen ...
Global Commons
Tim brought up the words 'global commons' - that oceans actually are part of the global commons - owned by the people - with no one person having ownership of everything. The atmosphere is too plus Antarctica and Space.
The Legal Legasea Fightback
Scott said Legasea has come about over a number of decades - as a result of having put in high quality submissions to Government - including legal submissions to the High Court the Appeal Court and Supreme Court - where the courts agreed with them and their interpretation of the Law. Listen
Legasea’s aim: To take the rights of the sea first and not property rights that the fishing industry covets.
And no matter what Scott and the small guys did to share the abundance and bounty of the ocean - they came up against the same obstacle - this intransigent monopolist, industrial fishing machine.
A hand full of families - that have been granted at no charge the property rights - the quota from back in 1986 - (during the Rogernomics experiment) and more recently Mana whenua - Listen
Within NZ vast fishery area - the 4th largest on earth are over 600 different fisheries spanning 90 plus species - many that are never seen as they are deep water varieties.
He states that under the present regime that property rights are failing globally - so Legasea have developed an alternative system called 'rescue fish.’
He believes that this system has the certainty of rebuilding abundance, creating a healthy inshore commercial fishing fleet, whanau (family) businesses small scale - ‘know your fisherman’ This is going to be the ‘catch cry' - he says you have read it here first.
Know your fisherman - know how that fisherman goes about catching that fish, where, how etc - know what regulations that he must fulfil and then buy that fish of them - and set up a relationship.
It also means that there will be a debt to the government as we will have to buy our own fish back - to buy out of this unfair 'quota management system.' Listen
He also talks to Manuwhenua - and to get them in a far stronger and equitable situation - again - back to the Treaty of Waitangi https://teara.govt.nz/en/treaty-of-waitangi/page-1 - and build up some goodwill. At the very least give them the real rangatiratanga that they never secured under the existing settlement arrangement. Listen
Also Scott talks about having a 50% biomass of fish - this translates to there is always 50% of the fish of every species in the ocean. Present fishing systems are leaving a far lower % of fish in the water hence it is totally non sustainable leading to eventual collapse - Listen
Rahui, Rahui, Rahui,
To put in place a temporary ritual prohibition, closed season, ban, reserve - traditionally a rāhui can be placed on an area, resource or stretch of water as a conservation measure.
Working Alongside Maori
Scott talks of the privilege of staying at a Marae in Waimate North in the Bay of Islands where Ngapuhi are going to do fish management in a far more holistic way - around sharing the abundance … Listen.
To re-emphasise
The quota management system - has failed us - having been based on property rights - that NZ was the first country on earth to do this and it is a failing system for 99% of the country and the people.
By definition it was an experiment - where the corporates ‘cleaned up!
The quota management system is owned by a dozen entities - who are monopolists and they are maximising the ownership and access rights.
(Tim here - Sadly far to much to write up - you will have to listen - astonishing stuff).
Scott tells about the infamous 1990 amendment where no select committee, no proper democratic process through Parliament - very dodgy MP Doug Kidd of the National Party said that the Legislation was a disgrace for Democracy …
Quotas today - they are paying over a million dollars a tonne for the right to harvest 1000 kilos of crayfish per annum.
Now there is also the conflict due to the falling of numbers of Maui dolphin and nets been used and it is really sad and messy - Listen. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1518731841601174/?fref=nf
Plus the weird marriage with the WWF with Stanfords and Moana fisheries - with a rescue plan based on more snapper quota …
https://www.worldwildlife.org
Start Anew
We have to start all over again.
He says delete ‘quotas’ and go back to square one and a blank piece of paper and start again - ask what do we as a society really want?
He says we want responsible people catching fish with a maximum respect - treating every fish in order to achieve maximum value - no more dumping over the side, no more discarding because it was the wrong fish as required by the quota - we want to see fisherman proud of the cameras on board to record the harvest - as well as around the ‘restraints' because its is all about goodwill. Listen
Legacy wanting significant resourcing in the people - simple kaupapa (policy, matter for discussion, plan, purpose, scheme, proposal, agenda, subject, programme, theme, issue, initiative.)
no profit in this - just restored abundance and a fair go for future generations
Controlling the Game
About 10 families for over 50 years they have been plundering the fishery, at no charge, no resource rental, they are given 400,000 tonnes of fish a year from the NZ commons - there is no resource rentals,
They pay a minimal cost recovery levy and for research that tilts the data more in their favour to take more fish as against reducing the take.
Note: Having industry pay for their own research is always slanted in industries favour e.g Genetic modified foods, glyphosate and 5G wireless - so that it has to be always mandated to have ‘independent research.’
He encourages us all to join Legacy so as to support the ordinary fisher folk against the might of big money of the fishing cartel.
Finally - join a club - any club - this is where you can meet people from other walks of life and learn more about society and of the various strands that connect across a broad swathe of the community and society as a whole. Become more knowing.
If you are really capable - join a committee and work for the benefit of a greater organisation or greater whole.
There are very few people in NZ if any who have such a command of communication and knowledge of fishing stocks than Scott Macindoe.
This superb interview of him gives you faith in the future of this country.
This is it until next year, where 2020 vision offers us the opportunity to re-envision where we as a human species - can create and shape a future. A conscious future that benefits all biota and children and grandchildren of tomorrow. This is what we hold dear to ourselves.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from us all at GreenplanetFM.com in Auckland - tucked away around the curve in the South West Pacific in Aotearoa New Zealand - just 4 and a half hours from Antarctica, the vast ‘global commons’ that no country or person owns.
Kia kaha and Aroha.
