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October 20, 2025
Locals, business leaders and interest groups unite against destructive fishing methods Lack of action from central government has resulted in a bold move by the Waikato Regional Council (WRC) to restrict commercial fishing in Coromandel waters. Scott Macindoe, President of the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council (NZSFC), says the decision highlights that local communities will ... Read more.
June 14, 2025
The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council and LegaSea have welcomed the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries’ decision to reject proposals for trawl corridors in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, however, both organisations insist the next step must be bold and decisive: a complete ban on all mobile bottom contact fishing methods, including bottom trawling, Danish ... Read more.
April 11, 2025
Controversial fisheries reforms have generated the biggest public backlash in decades and non-commercial interests are saying their fight doesn’t end here. Around 25,000 people have submitted against a raft of changes to the Fisheries Act, concerned that environmental protections for coastal fish and marine life, built up over time, are being dismantled. Minister for Oceans ... Read more.
February 18, 2025
This morning’s announcement by Shanes Jones, Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, proposed major changes to the Fisheries Act that threaten to remove public consultation, weaken governance, camera regulations, and discard rules. During the press conference, the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries was overt in his support for commercial fishers and quota owners. At the same ... Read more.
February 14, 2025
Recreational fishing and environmental advocates are calling for a strong public movement to oppose changes to the Fisheries Act which threatens New Zealand’s staple fish species and the marine environment. The proposal, announced by Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Shane Jones, includes a variety of reforms to the Fisheries Act, such as removing public consultation ... Read more.
January 23, 2025
Media Release A new proposal to increase commercial crayfish catch limits threatens to deplete already dangerously low crayfish populations in significant coastal areas of east Northland and the Hauraki Gulf. Fisheries NZ is looking to increase commercial catch limits on the northeast coast of New Zealand between Te Arai Point and East Cape, an area ... Read more.
October 14, 2024
Tripling the area where public fishing is excluded within the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, while permitting Māori customary and commercial fishing is a gross insult to everyone who has worked hard to conserve fish over the past few decades, according to public fishing interests’ group LegaSea. “The last-minute change to the Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection ... Read more.
October 11, 2024
Coromandel locals are horrified that Fisheries New Zealand is currently dragging a destructive industrial dredge through the local scallop fishery that has been closed due to depletion since March 2023. “There has been overwhelming community support for the closure of the local Coromandel fishery because scallop numbers were the lowest we’d ever seen. After all ... Read more.
October 1, 2024
People with coastal properties can expect to see more trawlers operating offshore this summer. That’s because Shane Jones, the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, has just increased the catch limits for more than 12 different fish stocks between Northland and Foveaux Strait. “Excessive increases to the total allowable commercial catch for snapper, kingfish, Jack mackerel, ... Read more.
October 1, 2024
An increase in the commercial catch limit for west coast snapper could put Māui dolphin, seabirds and other fish species at risk, for very little gain. “The 640 tonne increase to the total allowable commercial catch comes with an unwanted side effect of increased trawling effort. For years we’ve been advocating for more longlining and ... Read more.
