This note is not part of the regulations, but is intended to indicate their general effect.

Regulations 6, 10, and 14(2), which come into force on 1 April 2008,—

• clarify that the reporting requirement of regulation 6(3)(b) applies in respect of lining trip catch effort returns, trawl catch effort returns, and tuna longlining catch effort returns:

• amend the requirement under regulation 36 to the effect that container information is not required in respect of fish properly returned to the sea under Schedule 6 of the Fisheries Act 1996:

• add a further code to Part 3 of Schedule 3.

Regulations 4, 5, 7 to 9, 11 to 13, and 14(1) come into force on 1 October 2008.

The purpose of these regulations is to enable better information to be collected on incidental catch of non-fish and protected fish species, including seabirds, marine mammals, and coral species, as well as to simplify and streamline the reporting requirements for these species. In order to achieve this, a regulated non-fish and protected species catch return (NFPSCR) will be introduced by these regulations. The new return will—

• allow for fishers to report a wider range of incidental catch of aquatic species, eg, corals, in order to measure benthic impacts; and

• contribute to the Ministry of Fisheries’ better understanding of the effects of fishing on the aquatic environment through provision of high quality information; and

• provide an initial indication of which fisheries may have a problem with incidental catch of non-fish aquatic species; and

• require fishers to complete returns in real time, recording the incidental catch on the NFPSCR as soon as practicable after the event; and

• provide for fishers to furnish a standardised return that will be simpler and more intuitive to complete; and

• ensure that non-fish incidental catch data and catch effort data can be linked.