Fisheries Observer coverage and boat sinkings
Karina Sidaway made this Official Information request to Ministry for Primary Industries
This request has an unknown status. We're waiting for Karina Sidaway to read a recent response and update the status.
From: Karina Sidaway
Dear Ministry for Primary Industries,
I have two requests regarding the fisheries observer programme:
Question 1:
• I request a table showing the annual level of fishery observer coverage on deep-sea trawl boats for each year since 2000, disaggregated for each year by observer deployment status (i.e. dual observer, single observer, and no observer), expressed in days at sea.
• For this request, “deep-sea trawl boats” means any vessel targeting orange roughy, hoki, squid, oreo, or southern blue whiting within New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), or undertaking transboundary fishing (i.e. both inside and outside the EEZ within the same voyage).
Question 2:
• I request an annualised table or simple total (if disaggregated data is not available) showing the number of fishing boats (of any fishery) in which the crew required a rescue at sea (e.g. capsized, sunk, or grounded) while a fisheries observer was on board since 2000.
I look forward to your response.
Yours faithfully,
Karina Sidaway
From: Official Information Act
Ministry for Primary Industries
Kia ora Karina,
Thank you for your official information request received on 06 November 2025.
Your request below will be considered, and a decision provided in accordance with the requirements of the Official Information Act 1982.
If you have any questions regarding this request, please email [email address]
Ngā mihi,
Official Information Act Team
Government Services | Public Affairs
Ministry for Primary Industries – Manatū Ahu Matua
Charles Fergusson Building, 38-42 Bowen Street | PO Box 2526 | Wellington 6140 | New Zealand
Web: http://www.mpi.govt.nz/
-----Original Message-----
From: Karina Sidaway <[FOI #32755 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 6 November 2025 11:03 am
To: Official Information Act <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Fisheries Observer coverage and boat sinkings
[You don't often get email from [FOI #32755 email]. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Dear Ministry for Primary Industries,
I have two requests regarding the fisheries observer programme:
Question 1:
• I request a table showing the annual level of fishery observer coverage on deep-sea trawl boats for each year since 2000, disaggregated for each year by observer deployment status (i.e. dual observer, single observer, and no observer), expressed in days at sea.
• For this request, “deep-sea trawl boats” means any vessel targeting orange roughy, hoki, squid, oreo, or southern blue whiting within New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), or undertaking transboundary fishing (i.e. both inside and outside the EEZ within the same voyage).
Question 2:
• I request an annualised table or simple total (if disaggregated data is not available) showing the number of fishing boats (of any fishery) in which the crew required a rescue at sea (e.g. capsized, sunk, or grounded) while a fisheries observer was on board since 2000.
I look forward to your response.
Yours faithfully,
Karina Sidaway
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________________________________
This email message and any attachment(s) is intended solely for the addressee(s)
named above. The information it contains may be classified and may be legally
privileged. Unauthorised use of the message, or the information it contains,
may be unlawful. If you have received this message by mistake please call the
sender immediately on 64 4 8940100 or notify us by return email and erase the
original message and attachments. Thank you.
The Ministry for Primary Industries accepts no responsibility for changes
made to this email or to any attachments after transmission from the office.
________________________________
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From: Official Information Act
Ministry for Primary Industries
Tçnâ koe Katrina,
On behalf of Monique Andrew, Director Verification & Operations, please
find attached a response to your Official Information Act 1982 request.
Kâ mihi,
Official Information Act Team
Government Services | Public Affairs
Ministry for Primary Industries – Manatû Ahu Matua
Charles Fergusson Building, 38-42 Bowen Street | PO Box 2526 | Wellington
6140
Telephone: 0800 00 83 33 | Email: [1][email address] |
Web: [2]www.mpi.govt.nz
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This email message and any attachment(s) is intended solely for the
addressee(s)
named above. The information it contains may be classified and may be
legally
privileged. Unauthorised use of the message, or the information it
contains,
may be unlawful. If you have received this message by mistake please call
the
sender immediately on 64 4 8940100 or notify us by return email and erase
the
original message and attachments. Thank you.
The Ministry for Primary Industries accepts no responsibility for changes
made to this email or to any attachments after transmission from the
office.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.mpi.govt.nz/
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From: Karina Sidaway
Dear Official Information Act,
Thank you for your response of 4 December 2025 regarding my Official Information Act request (OIA25-0777). I appreciate the time taken to consider the request. However, I would like to respectfully note that the refusal under section 18(f) did not meet the procedural requirements of the Act.
Under section 18B of the OIA and the associated Ombudsman guidance, an agency must first consider consulting with the requester to refine or clarify a request before refusing it on the basis of substantial collation or research. In this case, no opportunity for refinement was offered, even though both questions could be reasonably narrowed in ways that avoid the difficulty identified in your response.
To assist in progressing this request without undue burden on Fisheries New Zealand, I am now submitting refined versions of the original questions. These refinements substantially reduce the scope and allow you to provide information in whichever metric is most readily available.
Refined Questions
Question 1 (Refined):
Please provide a table of annual observer voyage deployments for the period 2000–2024, disaggregated by observer status (i.e., dual-observer voyages and solo-observer voyages) across all fisheries. This may be expressed in:
number of observer days, or
percentage of total observer days, or
percentage of total voyages, or
any equivalent metric that is logistically easiest for FNZ to extract.
If quantifying the full series would still require substantial collation, please instead provide this information for the following four years only: 2000, 2008, 2016, and 2024.
Question 2 (Refined):
Please provide a table of the annual number of fisheries observers who required rescue at sea due to a fishing vessel sinking, capsizing, or being abandoned.
This may be restricted solely to the years and incidents recorded in your current Health and Safety database, and does not need to extend earlier than the period for which FNZ retains such records.
These refinements are intended to ensure that the request can be answered without substantial collation or research, consistent with section 18(f). They also reflect the Ombudsman’s position that agencies should release the information they are able to provide, even if not all information sought originally can be supplied.
I would appreciate confirmation that these refined questions can now be processed,.
Thank you for your assistance.
Yours sincerely
Karina Sidaway
From: Official Information Act
Ministry for Primary Industries
Kia ora Karina
Thank you for your follow up official information request received on 12 December.
Your request below will be considered, and a decision provided in accordance with the requirements of the Official Information Act 1982. Please note that under the OIA, 25 December to 15 January, inclusive is counted as one working day. This means any OIA requests submitted on 27 November or later may take a bit longer than you expected.
If you have any questions regarding this request, please email [email address]
Ngā mihi,
Official Information Act Team
Government Services | Public Affairs
Ministry for Primary Industries | Charles Fergusson Building, 34-38 Bowen Street | PO Box 2526 | Wellington | New Zealand
Telephone: 0800 00 83 33 | Email: [email address] | Web: http://www.mpi.govt.nz/
-----Original Message-----
From: Karina Sidaway <[FOI #32755 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 11 December 2025 8:02 pm
To: Official Information Act <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Response to your request, OIA25-0777
Dear Official Information Act,
Thank you for your response of 4 December 2025 regarding my Official Information Act request (OIA25-0777). I appreciate the time taken to consider the request. However, I would like to respectfully note that the refusal under section 18(f) did not meet the procedural requirements of the Act.
Under section 18B of the OIA and the associated Ombudsman guidance, an agency must first consider consulting with the requester to refine or clarify a request before refusing it on the basis of substantial collation or research. In this case, no opportunity for refinement was offered, even though both questions could be reasonably narrowed in ways that avoid the difficulty identified in your response.
To assist in progressing this request without undue burden on Fisheries New Zealand, I am now submitting refined versions of the original questions. These refinements substantially reduce the scope and allow you to provide information in whichever metric is most readily available.
Refined Questions
Question 1 (Refined):
Please provide a table of annual observer voyage deployments for the period 2000–2024, disaggregated by observer status (i.e., dual-observer voyages and solo-observer voyages) across all fisheries. This may be expressed in:
number of observer days, or
percentage of total observer days, or
percentage of total voyages, or
any equivalent metric that is logistically easiest for FNZ to extract.
If quantifying the full series would still require substantial collation, please instead provide this information for the following four years only: 2000, 2008, 2016, and 2024.
Question 2 (Refined):
Please provide a table of the annual number of fisheries observers who required rescue at sea due to a fishing vessel sinking, capsizing, or being abandoned.
This may be restricted solely to the years and incidents recorded in your current Health and Safety database, and does not need to extend earlier than the period for which FNZ retains such records.
These refinements are intended to ensure that the request can be answered without substantial collation or research, consistent with section 18(f). They also reflect the Ombudsman’s position that agencies should release the information they are able to provide, even if not all information sought originally can be supplied.
I would appreciate confirmation that these refined questions can now be processed,.
Thank you for your assistance.
Yours sincerely
Karina Sidaway
-----Original Message-----
Tçnâ koe Katrina,
On behalf of Monique Andrew, Director Verification & Operations, please find attached a response to your Official Information Act 1982 request.
Kâ mihi,
Official Information Act Team
Government Services | Public Affairs
Ministry for Primary Industries – Manatû Ahu Matua Charles Fergusson Building, 38-42 Bowen Street | PO Box 2526 | Wellington
6140
Telephone: 0800 00 83 33 | Email: [1][email address] |
Web: [2]http://www.mpi.govt.nz/
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.mpi.govt.nz/
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #32755 email]
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
________________________________
This email message and any attachment(s) is intended solely for the addressee(s)
named above. The information it contains may be classified and may be legally
privileged. Unauthorised use of the message, or the information it contains,
may be unlawful. If you have received this message by mistake please call the
sender immediately on 64 4 8940100 or notify us by return email and erase the
original message and attachments. Thank you.
The Ministry for Primary Industries accepts no responsibility for changes
made to this email or to any attachments after transmission from the office.
________________________________
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