The New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry was formerly known as the "Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries", but in 1995 responsibilities for fisheries were passed to the newly formed Ministry of Fisheries. However, the government of New Zealand decided that, despite the loss of Fisheries, the newly created "Ministry of Agriculture" should continue to be known by the acronym "MAF", and should still use the same logo, because of the high recognition and regard for the name and logo amongst the country's overseas trading partners. In 1998, this Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Forestry merged to become the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.