Randall has researched and published articles on New Zealand’s management of fisheries, including the seafood industry and conflicts between the commercial and non-commercial fishing sectors. He also worked for the former Ministry of Fisheries (and the Ministry for Primary Industries) for 13 years. Before immigrating to New Zealand, he commercially fished in Alaska.
During his time at the Initiative, Randall was the Research Fellow for our fisheries project. This work involved a series of three reports that contribute to the debate on what needs to be fixed within the recreational fishing space.
Latest reports:
The Future Catch: Preserving Recreational Fisheries for the Next Generation (2017)
The Overseas Catch: The state of recreational fisheries management abroad (2017)
What's the Catch?: The state of recreational fisheries management in New Zealand (2016)
To say the new Minister of Fisheries, Stuart Nash, inherited some fisheries management problems is an understatement. The Ministry for Primary Industries and its predecessors have failed to grapple with the misreporting of commercial catch, discarding of unwanted bycatch and the high grading of targeted catch. Read more
On Monday 4 December we launched our third report on how we can improve the recreational fishing experience. The panel discussion included Dr Randall Bess (author of the report), Hon. Read more
Recreational fishing in New Zealand’s marine waters is one of the few remaining free-of-charge public goods available to everyone. However, managing fisheries is not costless. Read more
Some opposition MPs take to their new roles swimmingly. It is hard to imagine that these politicians ever did anything else but criticise others for not solving problems. Which would be fine if those very problems had not been presided over by their own party for nine years. Read more
In his new report 'The Future Catch', Dr Randall Bess is calling for a peak body to be set up to influence policy around recreational fishing to ensure future generations will be able to fish. Duncan Garner interviews Dr Randall Bess on The AM Show about his recommendations. Read more
How can we preserve our fisheries now and into the future? Our Research Fellow, Dr Randall Bess, talks to Breakfast's Jack Tame about his latest report, The Future Catch. Read more
Dr Randall Bess discusses on Newshub the recommendations in his latest report 'The Future Catch'. He is calling for a peak recreational fishing body to help make and influence policy. Read more
On 4 December we launched the third report in our Fisheries Project series, The Future Catch. You can read our report and its recommendations here. Read more
Many New Zealanders love to fish. With the tenth longest coastline in the world, hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders fish recreationally each year in inshore waters. Read more
Increasingly, we are hearing recreational fishers are frustrated about the depletion of some fisheries compared with what they experienced in the past. Also, tensions and conflicts between recreational, commercial and customary fishers are intensifying as they compete for limited fisheries resources. Read more
This article originally appeared in the October 2017 edition of Seafood New Zealand magazine, available here. Read more
Click image for larger version. Read more
With some exceptions, there is a distinct lack of co-operation among the various interests in New Zealand’s inshore fisheries. The lack of co-operation worsens as competition increases for limited fisheries resources. Read more
Ahead of the Future of Recreational Fishing public meeting in Christchurch, Dr Randall Bess is interviewed on Newstalk ZB. On Wednesday 23 August he visits the Woolston Club to hear the ideas and opinions of the New Zealand recreational fishing community in Christchurch. Read more
The New Zealand Initiative's Dr Randall Bess and Geoff Rowling from Our Fishing Future, speak to Radio New Zealand about the future of recreational fishing in New Zealand. Throughout August and September, Dr Bess will be travelling the country holding public meetings to gather feedback from local fishing communities and discuss the draft recommendations in his latest report, 'The Future Catch: Preserving Recreational Fisheries for the Next Generation'. Read more