Pursuant to section 296P of the Fisheries Act 1996, the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries gives the following notice.

Notice

1. Title

This notice is the Fisheries (Standards and Specifications) Notice 2023.

2. Commencement

This notice comes into force the day after the date of its notification in the New Zealand Gazette.

3. Interpretation

In this notice, terms and expressions defined in the Fisheries Act 1996 have the same meanings as in that Act.

4. Nature of standards and specifications

I have issued standards and specifications under section 296O of the Fisheries Act 1996. These standards and specifications will apply from 1 October 2023.

The standards and specifications relate to the performance or exercise of specified functions, duties and powers by an Approved Service Delivery Organisation (ASDO). A general indication of the nature of these standards and specifications is listed below.

5. Business standards and specifications

These standards and specifications relate to the general operation and management of an ASDO in exercising any specified function, duty, or power including standards and specifications relating to:

1. ASDO operation.
2. performance record-keeping and reporting to the Ministry for Primary Industries.
3. relationship between the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries and the ASDO, including dispute resolution.
4. development and use of approved forms.
5. information management and system requirements.
6. the technical operating standards for exchange of electronic data and information from an ASDO.
7. supply of information to the Ministry for Primary Industries to assist with requests made under the Official Information Act 1982.

6. Service standards and specifications

These standards and specifications relate to the operation and management of specific functions, duties and powers by an ASDO including standards and specifications relating to:

1. revoking and amending approvals for licences, approvals, authorities, permissions or decisions or a registration where false or misleading information has been supplied.
2. monitoring and recording fishers’ compliance with various reporting and record-keeping requirements.
3. client registration.
4. monitoring foreign ownership and quota aggregation provisions.
5. maintaining and operating registers relating to quota, annual catch entitlements (ACE), registered fishing vessels, fishing permits and the transitional register of quota and forward trades.
6. recording decisions regarding quota allocation on the quota and ACE registers.
7. processing transfers of quota and ACE and calculating and comparing ACE with reported catch.
8. processing applications for caveats and mortgages.
9. recording decisions made by the Ministry for Primary Industries on applications for fishing permits on the permit register.
10. registering fishing vessels except for the granting of consent to register foreign owned or operated fishing vessels or fish carriers.
11. geospatial position reporting device registration and cancellation
12. processing and licensing licensed fish receiver (LFR) applications.
13. receiving and processing of monthly harvesting returns, LFR returns, annual inventory returns from an LFR and annual audit reports from an LFR.
14. monitoring catch limits and providing reports to the Ministry for Primary Industries regarding those limits.
15. issuing section 80 (Conclusive Notification) notifications.
16. amending catch balances.
17. reviewing section 80 (Conclusive Notification) notifications.
18. monitoring underfishing rights, over-fishing thresholds and tolerance levels as set by the Minister for Primary Industries from time to time and actioning breaches of those thresholds and levels.

7. Copies of standards and specifications

Full copies of the standards and specifications are available from the Head Office, Ministry for Primary Industries, Charles Ferguson House, Wellington.

Dated at Wellington this 5th day of July 2023.

Hon RACHEL BROOKING, Minister for Oceans and Fisheries.