Section 13 – Removing environmental considerations when setting catch limits. 

Removes environmental safeguards, allowing the Minister to set catch limits without considering the effect of fishing on the wider marine environment and species not in the Quota Management System. (Note – there are only 98 species in the QMS).

The Fisheries Amendment Bill prioritises commercial interests over the health of our fish stocks and the marine environment. 

Right now, when the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries sets catch limits they are legally required to consider the full effects of fishing on the wider marine environment, not just the fish they are targeting. 

The proposed amendments remove this obligation so catch limits could increase while environmental damage continues. 

Instead, the Minister’s responsibility would narrow to a checklist of six “standard factors” when setting catch limits, none of which require adequate consideration of the environmental consequences of fishing. This means there will be no obligation to account for long-term damage to habitats, impacts on other species outside the Quota Management System, or the health of the wider ecosystem.  

We’re being told environmental effects will be managed through “other tools”, but our reality is that unless the Minister is held responsible by the public, those tools are often delayed, contested, or never implemented at all. 

In simple terms, the proposed changes will make it easier to increase commercial catch limits while lowering the standard for marine protection. It’s a huge step backward for the long-term health of our fisheries. 

The Amendment Bill is in response to a string of Court cases that made it clear: the Minister must consider all effects of fishing, past, present, and future. Instead of complying with the Court rulings to strengthen fisheries management, the Coalition government and Minister Shane Jones are proposing to change the law to weaken existing protections. 

This Bill moves us away from managing oceans as connected systems and back toward single-species thinking. Single-species thinking isn’t world-leading. The world has moved to ecosystem-based fisheries management, taking a more holistic approach to how our fisheries are managed.

If we want abundant fisheries for future generations, the Amendment Bill must be thrown out. Make a submission now!

For more detailed information on what’s in the Bill, click here.