Tripling the area where public fishing is excluded within the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, while permitting Māori customary and commercial fishing is a gross insult to everyone who has worked hard to conserve fish over the past few decades, according to public fishing interests’ group LegaSea.

“The last-minute change to the Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Bill to allow commercial fishing to continue just demonstrates again what the public are up against when trying to protect their interests in taking a kid fishing,” says LegaSea Project Lead Sam Woolford.

“It’s bizarre to have a Marine Park that was set aside 24 years ago to benefit the people of the Gulf, and now we have officials and others colluding to deny us access to our food basket in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.”

Contrary to statements from the Minister of Conservation, Hon Tama Potaka, amateur fishers say these late amendments to the Bill will not make any measurable difference to the health of the Marine Park.

The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council has been involved in the Sea Change process since 2013, trying to find common solutions to restoring the abundance of fish and marine diversity of the Hauraki Gulf. The agreed Sea Change report included a mix of fisheries management and marine protection measures.

Bill McGarry is the local representative for the Council and secretary of the Outboard Boating Club, the largest in Auckland. Bill presented their collective views to the Environment Select Committee hearings in March this year. He believes this latest outcome is a travesty.

“If we had a functioning quota management system there would be no need to close off large fishing areas to protect biodiversity.

“Fisheries New Zealand has not operated in good faith with respect to public fishing; it’s as if their only constituency is fishing quota holders. The public has consistently offered up conservation measures to protect sea life in the Marine Park. This latest move by officials and the government is a slap in the face for democracy.”