Shane Jones’ latest proposal package, conveniently framed as a “Fisheries Reform”, is nothing but a wishlist of changes hunted by quota owners for over two decades. It represents a major loosening of controls on commercial fishing and grants wide powers to the Minister to increase commercial catches on a whim.

The Fisheries Act is being deconstructed to pass power to quota owners while weakening existing environmental protections and the need for Kiwis to have access to fish to feed their families.