Roughy on the Rise – Tim Pankhurst
This week our very own Tim Pankhurst both informed and entertained as he described the history of orange roughy fishing in New Zealand. This is the story that he has chronicled in Roughy on the Rise, a warts and all telling of this intriguing and dramatic saga, which exposes greed, mismanagement, a wide range of human behaviour and, ultimately, redemption.
Changes to maritime fishing boundaries which saw the area under control of New Zealand expand dramatically in the late 1970s, in combination with the development of new technologies which enabled the deep sea schools to be located, opened up the lucrative deepwater orange roughy fishery in the 1980s and 90s. Simultaneously, the fish rose in popularity due to its robust handling and storage properties, in combination with its delicate mild flesh.
This was a huge bonanza for the local industry and Tim outlined how fishing boat captains lied about catches to keep fishing spots secret from rivals, and how at least one boat sank because it tried to bring in too much fish. He showed photos of ships desperately weighed down with catches well in excess of safety limits.
However, miscalculations about orange roughy breeding - the fish live much longer (up to 149 years) grow more slowly and breed later than was realised - saw stocks plunge, with many fisheries closed. The industry quickly became unsustainable and the government implemented a quota management system in 1986. This is a tradable property right and a provides a powerful incentive for fisheries conservation.
While fishing continued in lower volumes, orange roughy largely disappeared from menus, with the industry acknowledging the fishery had damaged its reputation. Catches now are only 10% of what they were at their peak. Latterly however stocks are recovering and it has become extremely popular in China as a ‘banquet fish’.
The Marine Stewardship Council has recognised the efforts to make roughy stock sustainable by affixing its ecolabel, the international gold standard of sustainable fisheries, to New Zealand’s three major orange roughy fisheries. That certification is a remarkable testament to a turnaround in one of the world’s most controversial fisheries.
The book took 18 months to write and was not vetted by Tim’s publisher along the way – although he did show people what he wrote about them and in some cases “saved people from themselves”.
Tim finished by letting us know that he had copies for sale at $35 each, and he would donate $10 from each sale to the Club. Members who had read Roughy on the Rise testified that it was a cracking good read and highly encouraged the rest of us to get a copy.
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