September 19, 2023
Fisheries decisions have dominated the news over the past month. Many of us at LegaSea are still scratching our heads. The government needs to get serious about restoring the Hauraki Gulf. This starts by removing trawling and dredging so we can rebuild fish populations. Science has unequivocally proven the damage that trawling and dredging does […]
August 24, 2023
In the last two months we have been deeply involved in the development of seven major submissions responding to fisheries management and policy proposals. The common theme is that excessive catches lead to demands for increased commercial quota. This is not new, but it’s frustrating given the greenwashing rhetoric from officials and industry captains about […]
August 9, 2023
News today that the government will allow bottom trawling to continue in large areas of the Hauraki Gulf is being met by strong opposition from an alliance of groups campaigning to get the destructive fishing method out of the marine park. Released today, the decision is part of the Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan, and while […]
August 8, 2023
Government approval for a plan that supports the ongoing use of destructive fishing methods along New Zealand’s coastline has been labelled an outrage by recreational fishing and environmental interests. “There’s no plan to provide New Zealanders who are already struggling to feed whānau with affordable kaimoana. There’s no plan to support the struggling regional economies […]
June 22, 2023
Today, a diverse range of recreational fishing, environmental, law, corporate and business organisations have come together as the Hauraki Gulf Alliance to deliver a petition calling for bottom trawling, scallop dredging, and Danish seining to be banned from within the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. The petition of 36,589 signatures will be presented to MPs outside […]
May 22, 2023
A new artificial reef off Napier Port is set to become a flourishing environment thanks to the collaboration between mana whenua, LegaSea Hawkes Bay, Port of Napier, and the community. This collaboration has already produced two other artificial reefs in Hawke’s Bay, one north of Pania Reef and another at a shipwreck site. After only […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
