Fish Mainland’s Directors elected and appointed
Fish Mainland held its first AGM on 31 October in Christchurch. The AGM provided the first opportunity for the Members to exercise their democratic control over the organisation.
The elected and appointed Directors demonstrate Fish Mainland’s mandate to coordinate, represent and promote the interests of marine recreational fishers in the South Island and Stewart Island.
Fish Mainland’s services are available to Members and non-members alike and extend to the wider public by its actions to protect the marine environment for future generations.
During the AGM, those Members who have the right to vote (reside and/or own land in the South Island or Stewart Island) voted in the following Regional Directors:
· Fred Te Miha (021 661 662): Tasman District, Nelson City, Buller District and Grey District.
· Larnce Wichman (027 224 6683): Marlborough District and Kaikoura District.
· Barbara Reay (021 680 300): Canterbury Region, excluding the Kaikoura District and the Waitaki District.
· Brett Bensemann (021 456 772): Otago Region, Waitaki District and Westland District.
· Alan Key (027 432 8739): Southland Region, including Stewart Island.
The five elected Regional Directors appointed Neville Gurr (021 074 6221) as an additional Director, and me as the Chair of the Board. The Board has one further Director to appoint. Stewart Bull (021 222 4643) represents Ngai Tahu on the Board, and Te Tau Ihu Iwi have a Director to appoint.
These Directors are your go-to people for concerns and suggestions on fisheries issues. They will work respectfully and collaboratively with Fisheries New Zealand (now Oceans and Fisheries) and others to find workable solutions to the challenges in shared fisheries.
At all Board meetings each Director will have one vote, and resolution will be decided by a simple majority. The Chairperson will not have a casting vote in Board or committee meetings.
The AGM also included discussion on Fish Mainland’s near-term priorities, which include addressing concerns about blue cod rule changes, the set net ban, Southeast MPA proposals and our proposed self-reporting system to improve information for management decision making.
The AGM ended in time for us to watch the episode of Ocean Bounty on TV3 that featured Fish Mainland. If you haven’t watched it or want to again, you can access it on this link https://www.threenow.co.nz/shows/ocean-bounty/S1247-430#!
Since the episode aired, we have had a significant increase in Membership. Thanks to all who have recently signed up. We encourage all fishers to consider signing up for free and making any donation possible.
James Crossland
Chair of the Board
03 355 9433 / 021 029 45996