In everyday life, fines act as a deterrent. They may be less serious than jail time, but they create a strong incentive to stop doing the wrong thing. At sea, that basic logic no longer seems to apply.

The Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Shane Jones is a self-described champion of the fishing industry. He has persuaded his Cabinet colleagues to reduce deemed value penalty rates. These penalties apply when deepwater fishing fleets catch more fish than they are legally allowed.

The troubling issue is not just the reduction itself, but the absence of any expectation that fishing practices will change as a result.
Cabinet agreed to this last-minute change to the upcoming Fisheries Act Amendment Bill on the grounds that offshore fleets are increasingly catching inshore species such as snapper and kingfish. But this explanation misses the real issue.

Deemed value penalties are intended to act as a financial incentive for fishers to stay within lawful catch limits set for each species and area. Instead of functioning as a deterrent, reduced deemed value rates will now encourage ongoing catches beyond sustainable limits.
This amendment suits corporate fishing interests because the penalties simply become a manageable cost of doing business. Bulk harvesting can continue unabated, particularly when more valuable species are still coming onboard.

Many smaller inshore operators do not have the luxury of owning fish quota. Instead, they must lease catching rights, often from the same corporates operating offshore. There is no government control over how much can be charged for those rights, nor any obligation on quota holders to make them available.

Like rent, leasing catching rights is a major and unavoidable cost for small operators. But unlike offshore corporates, their deemed value penalty rates are not being reduced. The result is perverse: offshore fishers earn more from overcatch, while inshore fishers are penalised for catching the same species.

This is an inequitable system. The changes will likely deepen the divide between rent-seeking quota owners and already struggling owner-operators. If fishers cannot source enough catching rights, dumping of unwanted catch will increase. Fish stocks are put at risk as misreporting once again becomes a survival option for impoverished inshore fishers.

It is inevitable that inshore fishers will eventually argue their deemed value rates down. Some will simply go out of business.

LegaSea has worked with our expert fisheries team at the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council, the NZ Angling & Casting Association, and NZ Underwater for more than a decade to submit on the deemed value regime. Many of the issues we raised remain unresolved today.
In 2023, members of the West Coast Iwi Fisheries Forum, Ngā Hapū o Te Uru o Tainui, highlighted the inequities to Fisheries New Zealand. Officials ignored their advice that non-quota owners should have lower deemed value penalty rates in recognition of their high leasing costs.

Three years later, the government is amending the Fisheries Act to reduce penalties in ways that enrich quota owners while weakening protections for fish and hard-working people.

That is unacceptable economically, environmentally, and morally.

That is why LegaSea will be encouraging public submissions to the Select Committee when the Amendment Bill is released for consultation in early 2026.