LegaSea newsletters

LegaSea Newsletter #148 – Last Chance: Support LegaSea with Koparepare Wine’s 100% Commitment!

June 17, 2024 What would be your ideal restaurant? For us, it would be a place that serves delicious and innovative kaimoana dishes sourced directly from small, artisanal boats and fishing companies that use non-destructive fishing techniques to harvest their fish. As diners, we’d like to know exactly where the seafood has come from, the name of the […]

LegaSea Newsletter #147 – Celebrating the People’s Fish

May 28, 2024 Kahawai – “strong in the water”. Today marks the 15th anniversary of the day the Supreme Court ruled on the Kahawai Legal Challenge. On May 28th 2009 the Supreme Court found that while the Minister has wide discretion when making fisheries management decisions, the allowances that must be set aside for Māori customary and recreational […]

LegaSea newsletter #146 – We can’t eat our way out of mismanagement

May 2, 2024 Tackling kina barrens does not necessarily mean we should be harvesting more kina. It is a sign of ecosystem imbalance that requires an integrated management approach. Unless the Ministry for Primary Industries address the root cause of kina overabundance we will be stuck in a never-ending cycle. We can not eat our way out of […]

LegaSea newsletter #145 – The environmental cost of destructive fishing methods exposed

April 17, 2024 Cameras onboard commercial fishing vessels have exposed the environmental cost of destructive, indiscriminate fishing techniques. Since the installation of cameras on 127 vessels, the volume of reported fish discarded has increased by 46 percent and interactions with protected species, including seabirds and dolphins, is more than double what was previously reported.

LegaSea newsletter #144 – Wise decision-making or blatant commercial bias?

March 27, 2024 Last Friday the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Shane Jones, made his first round of decisions for a range of fish stocks across New Zealand. While we hoped for a positive outcome, we have instead been left with a sour taste for what is to come. What is clear from the decisions is the Minister’s […]

LegaSea newsletter #143 – Quite frankly, it’s embarrassing

March 13, 2024 It’s been 24 years since the establishment of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park and 9 years since the Sea Change programme was initiated to restore the Park. In that time tens of thousands of hours from volunteers, contractors and employees of a myriad of organisations have been invested into developing a pathway to restored abundance […]

LegaSea newsletter #142: Back into it

February 1, 2024 January is always a crazily busy time for the Fisheries Management crew at LegaSea and the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council. Twice a year, in April and October, our team dives into fish stock reviews. The April round kicks off in December, with submission deadlines looming in early February so the Minister can make decisions […]

LegaSea newsletter #141: The Year That Was 2023

January 24, 2024 As we reel in 2023, it’s a time to celebrate and reflect on all that we have achieved, thanks to your support. Together we have taken a stand against bottom trawling, the Industry Transformation Plan, the over allocation of our fish and even created chopping boards made out of trawl nets. Saying it was an […]

LegaSea newsletter #140 – Pushing for change

November 21, 2023 Pushing for change is not easy. It requires patience, knowledge and talking to the right person at the right time. But the most important part of it is public support. Without our supporters LegaSea is nothing. Everything we do is on account of the support and participation we get from you. So we want to […]

LegaSea newsletter #139 – An election, consultations and an AGM

September 28, 2023 Either coincidentally, or on purpose, there are two very important public consultations on Hauraki Gulf Marine Park issues running over the election and into November. A cynic might suggest that these were timed to keep the public focus away from these issues. It’s likely we will never find out if that’s true.