Articles

Thousands want trawling gone

May 15, 2023 In March over 7000 New Zealanders united to submit against the ongoing use of bottom trawling and scallop dredging in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. These submitters were responding to Fisheries New Zealand’s draft Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan, issued in January.  Public consultation on the plan is now closed. The draft action plan is supposed […]

Mushy fleshed snapper in the Hauraki Gulf

April 3, 2023 At the LegaSea-led Kai Ika filleting station, we fillet fish for amateur fishers. We also collect and distribute unwanted fishheads and frames to marae and whānau around Auckland who revere these tasty morsels.    In August 2022, before snapper spawning season even began, we noticed a large proportion of the fish coming through the Kai Ika […]

Groups unite to celebrate scallop closure

March 20, 2023 Environmental, iwi and recreational fishing interests in the Hauraki Gulf are celebrating the Minister’s decision to close the Coromandel scallop fishery indefinitely.  The Coromandel scallop fishery stretches from Leigh, Rodney in the north to Maketū in the Bay of Plenty.  Ngāti Hei led the closure with a rāhui prohibiting the harvest of scallops on the […]

A healthier Hauraki Gulf must come first

March 14, 2023 It’s time to look into the future of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. There is a growing awareness that we collectively need to be doing more to protect and enhance the waters of the Marine Park. So it’s unfortunate that Government plans for the future management of the Park include maintaining areas for trawling and […]

Communities and fishers welcome emergency scallop closure

December 14, 2022 Communities and fishers have welcomed Minister David Parker’s decision to use emergency powers to close the last two commercial scallop beds in New Zealand, in the Hauraki Gulf. The other scallop beds around Northland, Auckland and the Bay of Plenty, were closed earlier this year after a widespread community outcry at the disappearance of the […]

Proposed Hauraki Gulf marine protection – a farce?

December 6, 2022 Support for more protection of treasured Hauraki Gulf Marine Park waters continues to grow, so it’s interesting that recent Government proposals to increase no-fishing areas do not necessarily mean more fish in the water. In September 2022, the Department of Conservation asked for public feedback on a range of proposals, presenting 12 High Protection Areas […]

Minister ensures more fish in the water

November 1, 2022 We’re celebrating Minister David Parker’s choice to drop controversial changes to fisheries legislation that would threaten sustainability of crucial fish species. The Oceans and Fisheries Minister has announced he will pull out pre-set decision rules from the Fisheries Amendment Bill currently sitting in Parliament. He cited one of the reasons why he pulled the pre-set […]

Amendment Bill retains environmental protections

October 25, 2022 The Fisheries Amendment Bill passed into law today is welcome news to Kiwi fishers and environmental groups who are committed to restored abundance of our fisheries. “Oceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker is to be thanked for passing legislation that enables monitoring cameras aboard commercial fishing vessels and makes them land their catch instead of […]

Last minute change to Fisheries Amendment Bill a win for the environment

September 29, 2022 The Government’s decision to drop controversial changes to fisheries legislation is welcome news to fishing and environmental groups concerned about threats to fish sustainability.  Oceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker has announced he will progress the part of the Fisheries Amendment Bill that enables monitoring cameras aboard commercial fishing vessels from 1 November.  But the […]

Fisheries Amendment Bill full of hidden fish hooks

September 21, 2022 Proposed changes to the laws governing fisheries will remove the current protections for fish sustainability and affect fishing rights for more than 600,000 fishers. Currently, the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries has a statutory duty to manage fish stocks to a level that provides for future generations’ needs, and to consider public input. The Minister […]