Fears new fisheries unit doesn't have specialist knowledge

There are concerns the new standalone fisheries unit in the Ministry for Primary Industries won't be specialised enough to do its job properly. The ministry is losing its all-encompassing role and will have new units dedicated to fisheries, forestry and biosecurity. But a briefing paper to ministers says to save money, it will need to have staff in compliance and intelligence capable of working across the three units. University of Auckland business research fellow Glenn Simmons told RNZ reporter Conan Young it would be a mistake to have people without specialist fisheries knowledge responsible for monitoring the sector.