ICO: fishing locations are sacrosanct
Releasing details about the exact locations where a commercial fishing vessel casts its lines would not be in the public interest, according to the Information Commissioner.
Gitanjali Gutierrez, in a decision published last month, said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources was right to withhold records requested by The Royal Gazette about Fine Tuna to protect the boat owner’s commercial interests.
The department, responding to a 2021 public access to information, released some records about the fishing boat, which held a pelagic longline licence.
However, it redacted information such as dates, times, moon phase, hook type and line length, on the grounds that disclosing it would reveal fishing methodology and could benefit commercial competitors.
Ms Gutierrez agreed.
She found there was a general public interest in promoting greater understanding of the Government’s policies and practices regarding the regulation and monitoring of the fishing industry but that had to be weighed against the public interest in ensuring the department’s enforcement of licensing and fishing regulations did not undermine the industry.
“In many ways, a fisherman’s intimate knowledge of fishing locations and tactics is sacrosanct,” wrote the commissioner, noting that the request focused on a single vessel.
“If the department revealed such details, it could cause irreparable damage to its working relationships with individuals in the fishing industry and its ability to obtain information essential to carrying out its work, in turn potentially driving fishermen to operate outside the department’s regulation.
“The public has an interest in ensuring that the department can carry out its work effectively.”
Longline vessels are only allowed to fish beyond 20 nautical miles from the 200-metre bathymetric curve.
The Gazette asked for information about the distances of the fishing trips undertaken by Fine Tuna but the department did not provide it because the records did not exist.
The public authority explained to Ms Gutierrez, during her review of its response to the Pati request, that it did not calculate the distance of fishing trips but was alerted, via sensors, when boats leave and return to their normal docking places and other relevant information.
The Information Commissioner said she was satisfied with the department’s decision.
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