Fish Mainland gains charitable status
I am pleased to advise the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has approved Fish Mainland Inc’s application for charitable status.
Success came after the Board of Directors devised required amendments to Fish Mainland’s Constitution, and the members approved them. The requirements hinged on demonstrating a purpose that is exclusively charitable.
According to DIA, the promotion of sport and recreation is not considered charitable unless it is how another charitable purpose is pursued, such as advancement of education or protection of the environment.
DIA instructed us to amend our Constitution to clearly state charitable purposes and to be more inclusive of all interests, despite our collaborative approach for ensuring sustainability already in place.
Accordingly, Fish Mainland’s purpose is now to coordinate and assist the South Island marine fishing community in restoring and sustaining fisheries resources for the benefit of all who fish in the waters of the South Island.
The Board recognised several benefits to charitable status:
First, it allows Fish Mainland to apply for funds from foundations that only fund registered charities.
Second, it also allows Fish Mainland’s donors, including members, to gain tax credits.
Finally, the Board considers it better reflects Fish Mainland’s focus on the sustainability of fisheries and the marine environment, along with our inclusive and collaborative approach.
In other words, the Board agreed that a charitable purpose best signals what is needed for Fish Mainland to be relevant and reputable in addressing the increasing complexity of fisheries issues.
One of the more complex issues is the protection of dolphins. Maui’s dolphins are considered nationally critical. And, the last coalition Government had to grapple with the threat of legal action by Sea Shepherd, which became the driving force behind regulations that banned fishing methods that could incidentally kill or seriously injure Maui’s dolphins whose habitat is along the west coast of the North Island.
While the South Island regulations were ostensibly driven by threats to Hector’s dolphins, the regulations appear to be more a direct result of that coalition Government’s aim to eliminate set netting, along with the Department of Conservation’s longstanding efforts to curtail any fishing method where possible.
To be clear, Fish Mainland does not support nor condone fishing practices that could incidentally kill or seriously injure dolphins or other protected species.
That said, we do question the alleged threat posed by recreational netting in some areas, given the dearth of information on recreational fishing and the dubious assumptions used in modelling that was purported to be scientific rationale for banning netting even where dolphins have never been sighted.
During this past year, we repeatedly requested that MPI officials and the Hon David Parker meet with fishers in Motueka to hear their concerns about the consultation process and the ban applying to inland waterways of Golden and Tasman Bays that do not pose any risk to dolphins. Each request was declined.
Recently, the Hon David Parker replied, “There is no new information to review the decisions [to protect Hector’s dolphins].” This is an odd reply given the whole purpose of officials or the Minister meeting with fishers is to gain new and critical information that should have been considered when the decisions were made.
Nonetheless, we organised a meeting with fishers, Fish Mainland members and non-members alike. It was scheduled for 22 August in Motueka, but Alert Level 4 stymied it. The meeting will be rescheduled and readvertised as soon as practicable.
If the Government isn’t prepared to discuss local fishers’ evidence and no-risk solutions, then we’ll proceed with filing a complaint to the Parliamentary Regulations Review Committee.
This article is also available on The Fishing Paper, September 2021 issue 193. View original article
