The certification body, Moody Marine Ltd said that it seeks to pen a dialogue with all organisations or individuals with a direct interest in the fishery. The certification body has invited public comments or information to the assessment process relevant to the status of the stock, ecosystem interactions or fishery management practices.
The location of the fishery is within the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in five management areas (LIN3, LIN4, LIN5, LIN6 and LIN7). The fishing methods used in this fishery is trawl and longline. The New Zealand ling fisheries are managed by the Ministry of Fisheries through a quota management system (QMS) based on individual transferable quotas (ITQs). Within the QMS, fisheries sustainability objectives are achieved by setting a total allowable catch (TAC) that is consistent with the productivity of a fishery.
It is said that there is a partnership approach to fisheries management between the Deepwater Group and the Ministry of Fisheries. This is underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding that sets out the agreement between the Ministry of Fisheries and the Deepwater Group to work in partnership, outlining the prime areas and workplan to better manage deepwater fisheries.
The main commercial market is |Australia, Europe, Japan, Korea and South Africa. The certification body informed that the assessment process is expected to take 11 months and is scheduled for completion in or around April 2010.
