The Quota Management System
The Quota Management System (QMS) was introduced in 1986 to manage and conserve New Zealand's major commercial fisheries. The QMS is based on the simple concept of limiting the total commercial catches from each fish stock while allowing quota owners to buy, sell and lease their quota or catching rights, and to choose the method and the time of year they harvest their catches within these limits.
For management purposes, NZ's 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has been divided into ten Fisheries Management Areas (FMAs). For each species in the QMS, Quota Management Areas (QMAs) have been established to provide for effective sustainable management, with each QMA comprising one or more FMAs depending on the geographical distribution of each fish stock.
In 1986 Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQ) were allocated for all main inshore and deepwater fisheries. Today 97 species, or groups of species, are managed as 633 separate fish stocks under the OMS.
Some components of the QMS are reviewed annually, including the Total Allowable Commercial Catches (TACCs),deemed values, Government levies and conversion factors.