March 25, 2021
Years of poor fisheries management by successive governments under the Quota Management System (QMS) has resulted in tarakihi populations along the east coast of both islands falling to just 15% of their original population size. In 2019, the previous Minister of Fisheries responded to this crisis with a token 10 percent cut in commercial catch […]
March 23, 2021
Today the Hauraki Gulf Forum has confirmed its policy to remove all industrial bottom trawling and scallop dredging harvest techniques from the entire Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. This has come after a series of presentations around consequences and community actions of banning recreational dredging by LegaSea, Ngāti Hei, Ngāti Paoa and Revive Our Gulf. Years […]
January 30, 2021
The declining numbers of scallops, mussels, crayfish and paua has prompted Ngāti Pāoa to declare a rāhui banning all harvest of these species around Waiheke Island for two years and recreational fishers are supporting the initiative. Representatives of the largest organisations of recreational fishing interests will attend the customary rāhui ceremony at 5.30am on Sunday […]
December 17, 2020
The decline in scallop numbers on the eastern side of Coromandel Peninsula has prompted Opito Bay locals to join forces and initiate a programme to restore stocks of the delicacy, starting with a survey to establish how many scallops actually remain in the Bay. The survey will be officially launched at a morning ceremony on […]
November 1, 2020
Recreational marine fishing groups including LegaSea and the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council are calling on the newly elected government to address serious issues such as fish dumping, environmental damage from bottom trawling, and the need to restore fish stocks to healthy levels.
September 23, 2020
Recreational groups have come out strongly in support of the need to ban fishing techniques that damage the seabed in coastal marine waters. Increasingly, science shows that damage to the seafloor caused by fishing is having an exponential impact on the overall health of our marine ecosystems. At the Annual General Meeting of the New […]
September 9, 2020
The process to get monitoring cameras on board commercial fishing vessels is a debacle according to public awareness group LegaSea. The reality, it’s another promise made weeks before an election that won’t be initiated until after the following election cycle. “Cameras on board fishing vessels have been promised by fisheries Ministers since 2014, and last […]
July 14, 2020
Public support is swelling for reforms to fisheries management. The New Zealand Underwater Association (NZUA) being the latest organisation to join the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council and LegaSea in their efforts to create abundance in our coastal fisheries. Together these groups are seeking an overhaul to the existing fisheries management policy which begins by scrapping the Quota Management […]
May 28, 2020
Media release 28 May 2020 Plan released to restore fish stocks and revitalise New Zealand’s commercial fishing sector Sweeping changes proposed to fisheries policy to benefit future generations and pump much needed cash into the regions Restoring abundance to New Zealand’s coastal fisheries and stimulating regional economies are two objectives of the ‘Rescue Fish’ policy […]
February 26, 2020
A huge majority of New Zealanders think fishing industry donations to Members of Parliament at the last election have the potential to “strongly influence” decisions the MPs make according to a poll conducted by Horizon Research. The poll, which asked more than 1,000 people how much they felt donations by companies with large fishing investments […]