Corina Jordan, CE Fish & Game NZ Presentation March 2024

​Corina is an experienced and very keen fisherwoman and hunter with a strong drive and high intelligence, passion and qualities that put her in a very strong position to lead Fish & Game NZ (F&G) into the new era.  That was my assessment of her presentation to the Club.

Corina opened by setting out the status of Fish & Game in New Zealand, with functions conveyed under the Conservation Act 1987 “to manage, maintain and enhance sports fish and gamebirds and their habitats throughout the country”, noting that this model is unique in the world as it requires F&G to manage a public resource for the benefit of all present and future New Zealanders. She noted further that F&G receive no public money nor financial support from Central or Local government - funding comes entirely from licence fee of around $10m each year.

There are many issues facing the fishing/hunting fraternity and they are getting more difficult both from public attitudes and from regulatory positions. Corina gave us a quick summary of the issues and made us more aware of what the future could hold, especially if action is not taken now to preserve and enhance what NZ has to offer.

To assess attitudes and determine where F&G should focus, she has conducted a survey of
how New Zealanders thought about the roles of F&G. The results of that survey, together with the findings of the ministerial review conducted in 2021 has led Corina, together with her team, to develop a new organisational strategy for the 5 years from 2023. That strategy is intended to provide a strengthened fit-for-purpose organisation more connected to stakeholders and Manu Whenua, to protect and enhance freshwater fish and game, their habitats and values precious to all New Zealanders.

The other very exciting, obviously from her perspective, but to me also, outcome was the
implementation for F&G to ‘Tell our story better”. This campaign focuses on the “Rewild” theme and many of you will have seen this in operation in the press and other media, telling the F&G story.

She concluded by thanking us and all anglers and hunters for being such a significant part of the conservation effort and looked forward to contributing to F&G and hence all of us building the foundation for an enhanced future for the organisation and the sport we love.

I would summaries by saying that we should be grateful that F&G is in such good hands. Corina is passionate about the interests of anglers and hunters, with first-hand knowledge of the issues facing us, and her presentation demonstrated her people skills and incisive, decisive thinking.
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Graham Evans (President)Author