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Facts are listed on this forum to help with submission.

Yes there will be price increases for medication/ fish foods etc. They also want to charge for time spent on inquiries, So if a staff at MPI/Biosecurity says you can't import something and you disagree and want to speak to some else they will charge you $102/Hr

The information is already been provided in this forum. you don't need invoices. also you have been given the before price and likely after, I believe fresh water prices will increase by 10/15%.based on info provided by a large freshwater importer. So this is the price increase for now from MPI , what about in a few years, likely more price increases and more compliance. Travel Current we get charged based on distance from MPI office, So for example currently the charge is $88 per return trip. So for a shipment it is $166 plus gst a month, as you have two visits for marine fish. Under proposed fee it will be time/mileage, as they class the vets are professional vets. So new monthly fee will be $186/hr plus. 77c per km. So travel for example could be 3hr x $186, ( based on 25km x 4, return trip) $558 plus $77 so monthly fee is $635plus gst. Increase over 350% Fish checking fee so say currently is 8 hours a month. so 8 x $88, /hr = $704 plus gst, proposed will be 105% increase. so $1443 per month. so total cost for example will be $1443 $635 total $2078 a month just for MPI. All thsi for no added value/service. Fees will vary depending on QT size and location. This does not include any shipments outside normal hours. Issue is fish are checked by vets, so mpi has to pay higher wages. many years ago fish checked by standard border staff, why the need for vets?? not many other country use vets. Issue also is that the hobby will never grow as we can't import more fish due to restricted list, we can't add more fish to the allowable list, if we could get approval from erma, biosecurity can take 5 years to add fish to allowable list, so basically the hobby is trapped, it cant grow and is bogged down with compliance and long 3/4 week QT. other issue to look at. why 3 week qt and 4 week qt?? no other country has this long. Why do vets need to check fish? big expense. Compliance has caused time it takes to check fish by vets, this is due to biosecurity requirements, needs to be looked at taking costs into account. Its a monopoly we cant't go anywhere else. I believe tax payers should pay for some of it, as the requirements are set by biosecurity. whilst it costs, some money is recovered anyway by GST, creating jobs for bio security staff who pay tax, Industry is in recession, how will these extreme increases help Yellow tang $300- Yellow Tangs $199.90 Banggai Cardinalfish $135 Blue-Sided Fairywrasse Male $130 Coral beauty $180- Coral Beauty $110.00 Decorated fire fish $140 - Fire Goby $99.90 Clown fish $130 Jawelled Blenny $120- Lawnmower Blenny $79.90 Bubble coral $150- Green Bubble Coral $129.90 Torch coral $190- Torch Coral $139.90 Blue mushrooms $160-Blue Mushrooms - Discosoma sp. $139.90 Catalaphyllia jardinei $210 - Catalaphyllia $179.90 Cleaner shrimp $130 Note prices can vary depending what size/supplier etc. Not really, its the same few commercial operators that have been doing it for the last 10 years, everyone else needs to step up and take a interest.

i wonder if the FNZAS and clubs looking at this?? any feedback?

not yet, only bullet points, going to biosecurity meeting tomorrow in Auckland,

Travel Current we get charged based on distance from MPI office, So for example currently the charge is $88 per return trip. So for a shipment it is $166 plus gst a month, as you have two visits for marine fish. Under proposed fee it will be time/mileage, as they class the vets are professional vets. So new monthly fee will be $186/hr plus. 77c per km. So travel for example could be 3hr x $186, ( based on 25km x 4, return trip) $558 plus $77 so monthly fee is $635plus gst. Increase over 350% Fish checking fee so say currently is 8 hours a month. so 8 x $88, /hr = $704 plus gst, proposed will be 105% increase. so $1443 per month. so total cost for example will be $1443 $635 total $2078 a month just for MPI. All thsi for no added value/service. Fees will vary depending on QT size and location. This does not include any shipments outside normal hours. Issue is fish are checked by vets, so mpi has to pay higher wages. many years ago fish checked by standard border staff, why the need for vets?? not many other country use vets. Issue also is that the hobby will never grow as we can't import more fish due to restricted list, we can't add more fish to the allowable list, if we could get approval from erma, biosecurity can take 5 years to add fish to allowable list, so basically the hobby is trapped, it cant grow and is bogged down with compliance and long 3/4 week QT. other issue to look at. why 3 week qt and 4 week qt?? no other country has this long. Why do vets need to check fish? big expense. Compliance has caused time it takes to check fish by vets, this is due to biosecurity requirements, needs to be looked at taking costs into account. Its a monopoly we cant't go anywhere else. I believe tax payers should pay for some of it, as the requirements are set by biosecurity. whilst it costs, some money is recovered anyway by GST, creating jobs for bio security staff who pay tax, Industry is in recession, how will these extreme increases help

Some importers will have to close. All the fees can be passed on to hobbyist, however the hobby has been in recession for 3 years or more, so it will see less people getting into the hobby. Big issue is that the hobby can never grow as we can't bring in more fish as we have a limited allowable list so costs can never be kept at a reasonable price. The price range for importing fish being proposed is between 105% to around 400% or more.

yea, you have to read all the fine print, the document in a nightmare to read. http://mpi.govt.nz/news-and-resources/c ... od-safety/

Some in the tropical fish sector have already asked for a extension to the submission date and also put the ball in the MPI court and ask them to How does this proposal affect our sector specifically? and how do they justify the costs increases especially given the hobby has been in recession. There are so many fees that effect importers and it is not just one fee. overall some of the fees have increased by over 350%

whats the species name for these??

Looks like Australia is have major fish price increase in freshwater, around 400% Looks like we will follow them soon. http://www.qldaf.com/forums/general-aqu ... ia-117581/

Anyone go to the CHCH meeting yesterday? Wellington today?? Any feedback

not really. big issue is checking fish.

1/you don't need a expert, could be a admin person who gets paid $40/hr, to check the fish number /invoices etc. will be big cost saving for mpi and tax payers. You bring up a very good point as many years ago fish did not get checked by vets, so due to mpi/biosecurity choosing to use this expensive channel should pay for it. But if they choose to use vets thats fine, MPI/tax payers covers the cost. Plus its not a large part of what mpi do, so time checking fish etc, is not that costly in the big picture for tax payers. 2/Random checks, no need to check every shipment. sea containers don't get all checked. 3/ or just check arrival shipments and do random release checks after QT.

thats already been covered

Totally different ball game. marine go threw a plankton stage, so very difficult to feed them, will never we easy to breed most of them. Plus its not just about fish imports, the big picture means that less fish will be imported, which mean less hobbyist and less stores buying drystock. Higher fish prices will mean bigger mark ups as the risk is higher. its a price increase to $200/hr then in 4 years it could be another $200hr. That is how they have operated in the past. to continue to find ways to increase cost recovery that a tax payer never sees anyway

Really?? fact-less. To give you a idea what retail price might look like after the proposed MPI fee increases. also added some prices currently charged at Hollywoods Yellow tang $300- Yellow Tangs $199.90 Banggai Cardinalfish $135 Blue-Sided Fairywrasse Male $130 Coral beauty $180- Coral Beauty $110.00 Decorated fire fish $140 - Fire Goby $99.90 Clown fish $130 Jawelled Blenny $120- Lawnmower Blenny $79.90 Bubble coral $150- Green Bubble Coral $129.90 Torch coral $190- Torch Coral $139.90 Blue mushrooms $160-Blue Mushrooms - Discosoma sp. $139.90 Catalaphyllia jardinei $210 - Catalaphyllia $179.90 Cleaner shrimp $130 Note prices can vary depending what size/supplier etc. Looking back to price list i have 4 years ago a coral beauty would retail at $80 with so called none competition. Your facts are not correct , not really helping the hobby with false facts and lack of industry experience. The issue is not about competition its about dramatic price increase which will effect every hobbyist and make it very hard for small importers to cover the costs. Sure it can all be pass on, but that does not help the growth of the hobby. if it was that easy. why would a importer take the risk in just importing so called fancy fish. its based on volumes, plus you still get deaths after QT. who covers that. also not easy to get fancy fish in large numbers. Marine can't be breed in large numbers. only about 2% of all species can be breed. good luck with that. Freshwater fish will be effected by the proposed increase, however not as much given the volume per shipment. To some degree. however they have put major compliance in place , which cost to manage. plus they have a monopoly , no competition to there pricing. PLUS, How does overpricing Business's with extra costs, how does this encourage growth. Jobs,? If the tax payer has to fund some of the cost so be it, as it is recovered in other ways like Jobs, Growth, trade & taxes from Business etc. Question. why employ a Vet to check fish? they have no experience, not interested in the condition of fish, and its all about spread sheets and paper work. seems to be a major MPI business structure problem.

To give you a idea what retail price might look like for marine fish/corals after the proposed MPI fee increases. Banggai Cardinalfish $135 Blue-Sided Fairywrasse Male $130 Coral beauty $180 Decorated fire fish $140 Clown fish $130 Jawelled Blenny $120 Bubble coral $150 Torch coral $190 Blue mushrooms $160 Catalaphyllia jardinei $190 Cleaner shrimp $130 Now who is happy with that. I dont have fresh water indication , but will look to get one.

Have advised the Pet industry association, so hopefully they will advise all stores and make a submission

Would be good if you can. As many need to go as possible as it is a major hurdle the hobby will have going forward, current proposal to increase MPI fees by 105% will make a major impact on fish prices, plus in a few years we will likely see further increases,

There are going to be meetings, so i suggest people go along. Date Biosecurity Food Safety Mon 26 Jan DUNEDIN Scenic Hotel Southern Cross 123 Princes Street 1.00-2.00 PM CHRISTCHURCH Rydges Hotel 10.30 AM Tues 27 Jan CHRISTCHURCH MPI Office, SWPD Meeting Room 1 14 Sir William Pickering Drive, Burnside 1.00-2.00 PM NELSON Rutherford Hotel 11.00 AM Weds 28 Jan WELLINGTON Rydges Hotel Meeting, Grand Space 75 Featherston Street, Pipitea 1.30 PM - 3.00 PM AUCKLAND Rendezvous Hotel, 10.30 AM and Holiday Inn Auckland Airport, 2.30 PM Thurs 29 Jan NAPIER Napier War Memorial Main Room 48 Marine Parade, Bluff Hill 10.30 AM - 12.00 PM HAMILTON Kingsgate Hotel 10.30 AM Fri 30 Jan TAURANGA Trinity Wharf Hotel, Pool House 51 Dive Crescent, Bay of Plenty 10.30 AM - 12.00 PM WELLINGTON MPI, Pastoral House 25 The Terrace 10.00 AM Mon 2 Feb NAPIER War Memorial Conference Centre 11.00 AM Tues 3 Feb AUCKLAND Crowne Plaza, 10.30 AM and Sudima Auckland Airport, 2.30 PM Weds 4 Feb AUCKLAND Rendezvous Hotel 71 Mayoral Drive 10.00 AM and 1.30 PM PALMERSTON NORTH Copthorne Hotel 10.00 AM Thurs 5 Feb AUCKLAND AIRPORT Holiday Inn Auckland Airport Jean Batten Room 10.30 AM and 1.00 PM DUNEDIN Southern Cross Hotel 12.30 PM Fri 6 Feb Waitangi Day Waitangi Day Mon 9 Feb TAURANGA Daniels in the Park Function Centre 10.30 AM

I think also the lack of input by clubs/industry over the last 10 years have compounded the predicament the hobby is in. The ornamental fish importation has so many requirements which have come about from the lack of input over the years, which has translated into substantial compliance cost. The end of the hobby is not far away and will only be available for the rich.

Travel will also have a massive increase. instead of the current set fee , importers will pay time plus mileage fee So a 25km return trip will cost around $300.

How does 105% increase in fee make it equitable, no one will be paying less. Plus also fee increases for getting goods cleared, increase in yearly permits. Plus there are many other hidden fees that most are not aware of yet. like getting clearance for fish food/ bacteria etc , This has a Massive impact if it goes ahead.

It seems that MPI is looking to increase fees for importation of fish etc, http://www.mpi.govt.nz/news-and-resourc ... od-safety/ Not sure if anyone has seen this , but it seems to be a major which will have major consequences for the hobby. Currently importers pay about $100 a hour to get fish checked and to do paper work/audits etc, looks like this fee is almost to be doubled. All clubs should be putting in a submission to reject all fee increases. i Believe FNZAS has a close relationship with MPI, do they have any info.?