Fishery Officer

We are recruiting for a Fishery Officer for our Nelson office.

The starting salary for this role is $63,464 - $81,504 depending on relevant skills and experience.

Kōrero mō te Tūranga - About the Role
The working life of a Fishery Officer is varied and interesting. On any given day you may find yourself patrolling the beaches and boat ramps, educating the public on the fishing rules, inspecting recreational and/or commercial fishing vessels, preparing a file for prosecution, taking part in a surveillance operation, gathering intelligence on fisheries offending, and/or analysing fisheries information. Developing and maintaining relationships with tangata whenua and stakeholder groups who use the fisheries resource is also an important aspect of this role.

This role is challenging and varied, and this is what we expect from our frontline staff:

- Work under the direction of your team leader and with experience develop your own work plans and strategies dealing with the issues and priorities in our area.
- Be responsible for the education, monitoring and inspection activities across the Fisheries sector.
- Detect, investigate, and take action against breaches of Fisheries legislation.
- Collate, interpret, and monitor fishing related information and electronic data.
- Effectively communicate and develop professional working relationships at all levels of the community and the fishing industry.

See more information about Fisheries including an On The Job video, and a profile of one of our Fisheries Officers.

Mōu - About You
Successful Fishery Officers will have an interest in the marine environment and some knowledge of how the NZ Fisheries framework system works. This is an opportunity to combine problem solving with sustainability, you may have studied some Marine Biology, really enjoy your fishing or diving, or trace a special relationship to the moana through generations, have an operational background or have worked in enforcement, or maybe it's something else that inspires you to this role.
You will also;
- Be able to keep your cool in confrontational situations, this happens from time to time as this is an enforcement role
- Have the ability to work unsociable hours (weekends, public holidays, early or late and during the night) when required and in differing environments. This also includes being on call to attend to complaints from the public
- Be comfortable being away from home for a night or two, perhaps longer on occasion. This could be for training purposes, for patrols, or to support work in other parts of NZ. This can include patrol deployments on Navy, Airforce, or other government assets
- Have an enquiring mind-set, analytical experience is very useful
- Be able to keep your cool in confrontational situations, this happens from time to time as this is an enforcement role
- Have a basic understanding of the Treaty of Waitangi and its importance in a NZ Fisheries context
- Have computer literacy; skilled in the use of the Microsoft Office suite and a familiarity with databases
- Be passionate, motivated and driven to succeed in the role both in a team and on your own.

Please note there is fitness test requirement for this role, details are outlined in the job description.

Mō tō mātou Rōpū - About the Team
You will be joining the Nelson team, an integral part of the Upper South Island Fisheries Compliance regional team. There are 30 staff in the wider region in three teams spread across the 6 offices. We are mostly Fishery Officers, with support staff, an analyst and 3 team leaders. The Fishery Officers come from a variety of backgrounds, and are generally people who enjoy time in the outdoors, fishing and the sea, engaging with people, and problem solving.

Mō te takiwa - About the district
Whakatū Nelson consistently has one of New Zealand's highest recorded annual sunshine and is a hotspot for recreational activities on and off the water. Amateur fishers enjoy access to a wide array of fish and shellfish species. It is also home to the largest fishing port in the country by volume, with key bases for major New Zealand fishing companies and aquaculture operations. There are also research and tertiary education providers here focussing some of their work on the whole fishing industry. The Nelson office is home to the spectrum of MPI's fisheries work, with staff involved in Fisheries Management, aquaculture, and permitting alongside the compliance branch.

Mō te Manatū Ahu Matua - About MPI
We're passionate about growing prosperity in the sector while ensuring respect for Kaitiaki - guardianship of our natural resources.

To find out more about the Ministry and what we do please click here

Ngā hua o te mahi i te Manatū Ahu Matua - Benefits of working at MPI
Additional MPI leave days
Ability to purchase extra annual leave
We have a comprehensive role specific training programme this is delivered online and has a 3-week residential portion. Training continues throughout the