Articles

Commission of Inquiry into QMS

October 25, 2016 In May Dr Glenn Simmons released a shocking report highlighting New Zealand authorities had, for 60 years, knowlingly under reported total fish catch to the United Nations. The report also exposed the excessive and deliberate waste of our fish by commercial fishers. It was accompanied by leaked Ministry for Primary Industries’ reports revealing that MPI […]

Fryday FryUp – 21 October

October 21, 2016 Snapper 1 survey, getting ready for the long weekend, seabed mining, vote in our poll Snapper fishing – Your opinion matters In 2013 there was unprecedented media coverage of the recreational snapper fishery. This highlighted problems with the fisheries management system and the need for more inclusive decision making. A Snapper 1 management plan has been […]

Fryday FryUp – 14 October

October 14, 2016 Seabed mining, LegaSea needs your help, remember crayfish? The KASM Around 1.6 tonnes of seabed could be extracted every second under new proposals to mine the seabed off the Taranaki coast. That seabed, rich in nutrients, home to many of our favourite species, gets pulped and then 90% of it is squirted back into the […]

Fryday FryUp – 30 September

September 30, 2016 Independent inquiry, conspiracy of silence, LegaSea poll, a baby blue whale feeding and seabed mining. MPI – time to cut the chain? John Key and Minister Nathan Guy must be starting to wonder when is the best time to cut their losses and jettison fisheries matters into a new ministry, as far from the Primary […]

QC labels MPI inaction flawed

September 29, 2016 Startling evidence confirming gross under reporting of total catch from our fisheries came to light with the release of a report by Dr. Glenn Simmons earlier this year. The research, spanning 60 years of reporting to the United Nations, was accompanied by the leaking of two draft reports from the Ministry for Primary Industries. It […]

Prime territory but where are the crayfish?

September 29, 2016 Crayfish numbers are so low in the Hauraki Gulf and surrounding northeast coast that University of Auckland researchers are referring to them as “functionally extinct”. This means they are no longer fulfilling their role in the marine ecosystem. This is dire news for both the environment and the public. In 2014 the New Zealand Sport […]

Mixed bag of Ministerial decisions

September 28, 2016 Nathan Guy, the Minister for Primary Industries, has announced his decisions for the future management of five South Island fish stocks including bluenose, snapper, paua, John dory and jack mackerel. The decisions are a mixed bag, with cuts to commercial catch limits for bluenose, jack mackerel and paua, and increases for John dory and snapper. […]

Chance to rebuild Southern Scallops

September 28, 2016 Nathan Guy’s recent decision to close the Scallop 7 fishery around the top of the South Island is welcome news. The closure applies to all scallop fishing, commercial and non-commercial. New management measures will be discussed and hopefully agreed before the start of the next season, in July 2017. LegaSea is pleased with this outcome, […]

Mixed views on snapper plan

September 28, 2016 After two years and 26 joint meetings, the proposed management plan for Snapper 1 on the northeast coast has been released. Given the substantial investment of time and money from recreational fishers the plan is a disappointment, mainly because only issues that could be agreed by all parties were included in the document. We have […]

Fryday FryUp – 23 September

September 23, 2016 Welcome to the FryUp – a regular look back at the week of fishing in the news. MPI flounders and confounds The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has had a turgid seven days. It kicked off this time last week with the release of the Heron Report into the decision why no prosecutions would be […]