Published in Mahurangi Matters, May 2025.

By Sam Woolford, LegaSea Project Lead.

It’s been a roaring start to 2025 – proposals to allow commercial fishing in Highly Protected Areas in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, and reviews of our precious crayfish have kept us busy. The cherry on top is Shane Jones’ proposed changes to the Fisheries Act. The Minister for Oceans and Fisheries has published a wishlist of changes.

The Minister’s push to scrap so-called “unnecessary red tape” risks our ability to gather kaimoana from a healthy and abundant marine environment. It’s plainly a backdoor move to increase profits for quota owners while the marine environment, small-scale fishers and everyday Kiwis lose out. Again.

There is no fast-track way to sustainability. A reform that increases the risks to ecosystem function and productivity for no tangible benefit is not a reform at all – It’s a scam!

The LegaSea team has been campaigning hard on your behalf, advocating for a fair go for future generations. More than 25,000 concerned Kiwis spoke out against the proposed changes making it clear we won’t tolerate a dozen quota owners dictating the management of our fisheries. The fish must come first.

Together, the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council, LegaSea, NZ Angling & Casting and NZ Underwater Association submitted a joint comprehensive submission in mid-April. We dismantled the credibility of the proposed changes and instead advocated for real reform. Ultimately, we want more fish in the water and a thriving marine environment, not more closures.

We accepted there was merit in some of Jones’ proposals, while others were unnecessary. Our submission is not about being anti-commercial fishing. It’s about being pro-sustainability, pro-community and pro-New Zealand’s precious environment.

If Jones succeeds, it’s the first step towards the Minister no longer being required to set aside an allowance to provide for recreational fishing interests. Privatisation means a change from the allowance to a fixed quota. When that happens we get the leftovers from a failed Quota Management System. If it’s rods vs trawlers, there is no contest.

The bottom line is that the proposals aim to privatise what’s left of a public resource, our fish. Reporting our daily catch limits and licensing would be inevitable, spelling the end of recreational fishing as we know it. Our submission opposed any attempts to reduce our access to a vital public resource.

There are further proposals addressed in our comprehensive 60-page submission, perfect for a bit of reading on a windy winter’s day. But the job isn’t finished. The proposals are only the first tranche of amendments to the Fisheries Act. The Minister has warned there is more to come.

While public submissions closed in April, the fight isn’t over. Now we wait to see if the proposals pass through Cabinet and if successful, they could become legislation by the end of 2026. You can stay informed on the “reforms” by subscribing to our LegaSea newsletters. We may be calling on your help again sooner rather than later, so stay tuned and let’s stand up for what’s right.