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 […]
May 29, 2025
Kahawai, also known as the people’s fish, is dear to most Kiwi’s hearts. It’s the fish we caught first when we were kids off the rocks, the wharf, the beach or the dinghy with the dodgy outboard. So it’s apt that it has its own special day. National Kahawai Day, 28th May. Yes, we may […]
May 29, 2025
There’s a good reason why May 28th is National Kahawai Day. It’s the day in 2009 when the Supreme Court delivered its landmark decision confirming the public’s interests in having healthy fisheries. Non-commercial fishers have a right to quality fishing. The Court confirmed the Minister has a statutory (legal) obligation to set aside reasonable allowances […]
May 15, 2025
Published in Mahurangi Matters, May 2025. By Sam Woolford, LegaSea Project Lead. It’s been a roaring start to 2025 – proposals to allow commercial fishing in Highly Protected Areas in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, and reviews of our precious crayfish have kept us busy. The cherry on top is Shane Jones’ proposed changes to […]
May 8, 2025
With the Fisheries Reform Scam submissions now in, we’ve finally had a bit of breathing room to shift focus toward some more positive things (well – aside from the latest NZSFC Pod and Reel episode, which is a heavy but important listen about the fairly recent tragedy involving three fishers from the Gisborne Tatapouri Club). […]
April 16, 2025
Thank you! More than 25,000 of you took the time to write a submission opposing the Fisheries Act amendments. That’s massive. And it’s proof that every day New Zealanders care deeply about the health of our ocean and the future of our fisheries. Thank you for lending your voice, for standing up, and for making […]
April 13, 2025
Published in Mahurangi Matters, April 2025. By Sam Woolford, LegaSea Project Lead. Another summer has come to a close, and I hope you made the most of it, spending time on the water and creating memories with loved ones. Summer is also a time to reflect on how much our coastal marine environment has changed […]
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 […]
April 4, 2025
Call us sticklers, but we’d like our grandkids to see fish in the sea, not just in photographs. That’s why it’s so important we stand together as Kiwis against this latest “reform” scam from Shane Jones and his pals in the fishing industry. Reform, by definition, is meant to improve a broken system. It should […]
March 27, 2025
We’ve been going hell for leather, encouraging everyone fired up about Shane Jones’s industry pandering to turn that energy into submissions, and it’s paying off. The Minister’s decisions for crayfish between on the northeast coast between Te Arai Point and East Cape (CRA 2) and in the deep south (CRA 7) just dropped, and despite […]
