Latest updates


LegaSea newsletter #114 – Have your say on daily bag limits

November 15, 2021 Have your say on daily bag limits In June this year the Tairua community and local iwi Ngāti Hei were horrified to witness binfulls of pink maomao being taken from Coromandel waters under the guise of “recreational fishing”. Fisheries officers were powerless to prosecute the people responsible because bag limits and size limits do not […]

Kai Ika newsletter update – Heads Up – Kai Ika filleting re-opens

November 4, 2021 In these crazy times Kai Ika find itself busier than ever. Many Auckland whānau are needing more help than before, evident by the length of the queues waiting for pick up at the marae when kaimoana is available. Thankfully more suppliers are stepping up and we have more food to distribute than ever before.

Biodiversity hot spot on our doorstep

October 27, 2021 The Hauraki Gulf is a biodiversity hot spot. It’s also in trouble, with well-documented declines in fish abundance and unrelenting run-off from urban centres and rural land. Support is growing for more comprehensive protection of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. This includes higher protection for marine biodiversity, by banning destructive bottom contact fishing methods such […]

Minister passes first major test

October 21, 2021 It’s a pass mark for the Minister’s fisheries management decisions for the start of the October fishing year and a hurry-up for Fisheries New Zealand to gather vital data over the next 12 months. That pass is only valid if action is taken to do further work. Fisheries New Zealand need to be monitoring the […]

A mixed outcome from scallop ban

October 15, 2021 It’s great to be alongside Ngāti Hei celebrating the Minister’s recent approval for a 2-year rāhui banning all scallop harvesting around the eastern Coromandel until September 2023. On the flip side, it is ominous for the sustainability of other scallop beds that remain open around the Hauraki Gulf and Bay of Plenty. People around Omaha, […]

LegaSea newsletter #113 – Back on the water

October 8, 2021 For those of us still in lockdown after 50 days, Wednesday’s easing of restrictions meant we could finally get back on the water and do some fishing! It’s a welcome respite after such a long time and we sure did take advantage of it. Let’s hope we all can get back to normal soon.

Recreational fishers welcome Minister’s conservative fisheries decisions

October 1, 2021 New commercial catch limits applying from October 1 show a considered, conservative approach by Minister David Parker to protecting fish. LegaSea Lead, Sam Woolford said: “A record number, more than 10,000 people sent in submissions to Fisheries Minister David Parker for this year’s fishing sustainability review. We are encouraged that people are starting to understand […]

LegaSea newsletter #112 – The public’s voice makes a difference

September 28, 2021 We spoke up and the Minister listened. Last week David Parker, the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, acknowledged the receipt of over 10,000 submissions in response to the recent reviews. If you were one of the submitters, Minister Parker and our future generations say thanks.

What next for scallops?

September 24, 2021 Hauraki Gulf communities are abuzz with the news that Ngāti Hei has successfully implemented a rāhui, a 2-year temporary closure to all scallop fishing from within their rohe on the eastern Coromandel coast. This will help protect the seabed and restore depleted scallop stocks. Ministerial approval for this rāhui was announced on 8 September and […]

Mediocrity not good enough for the Hauraki Gulf

September 24, 2021 In 2002 researchers surveying the Hauraki Gulf estimated only 24 tonnes of gurnard remained in Gulf waters. Since then there has been a succession of Hauraki Gulf Forum reports documenting continual decline of fish stocks and marine biodiversity. A crisis is looming yet there is no effective response from local or national government. The Hauraki […]