Latest updates


Bag limit changes – keep it simple

December 20, 2021 Action is finally being taken to stop the sale of vulnerable marine fish not protected by maximum daily bag limits. Currently no bag limits apply to pink and blue maomao, grandaddy hāpuku, pigfish and wrasses. We’ve sent the Minister our recommendations for a 3-daily bag limit for each of those species and for the regulations […]

Opito Bay scallop restoration programme – one year on

December 17, 2021 Today we’re celebrating one year since the successful launch of the Coromandel scallop restoration programme. On 17 December 2020 representatives from the Coromandel community, iwi and recreational fishing organisations all stood together at Opito Bay to call for protection of our scallop beds from the destructive practice of scallop dredging. The official launch was marked […]

No more dumping in Hawke’s Bay

December 14, 2021 LegaSea Hawke’s Bay has said an outright no to the proposal by their Regional Council to dump more than 50,000 cubic metres of dredge material onto the foreshore south of Napier. Instead, LegaSea Hawke’s Bay is urging the Council to dispose of the Clive River dredgings on land. And they are not alone in advocating […]

No once over lightly for bag limits

December 14, 2021 A gaping hole in the fishing regulations is about to be plugged to stop the exploitation of vulnerable reef fish and to address community concerns. Conflict arose in Tairua, Coromandel, earlier this year when hundreds of pink maomao were being landed and people realised no bag limits applied. MPI were powerless to respond because the […]

Media release – Widespread support for Waiheke rāhui

December 2, 2021 Media release 1 December 2021 Widespread support for Waiheke rāhui The Minister’s approval for a two-year temporary closure to fishing around Waiheke Island has drawn praise from divergent groups. The declining numbers of scallops, mussels, crayfish and pāua has prompted Ngāti Pāoa to declare a rāhui banning all harvest of these species around Waiheke Island […]

No more destructive fishing in inshore waters

November 24, 2021 The most effective way to improve the long term productivity of our marine environment is to remove destructive fishing techniques such as bottom trawling, scallop dredging, Danish and purse seining from inshore waters. We don’t have to look far to see the benefits of removing bulk harvesting seining and bottom contact fishing methods from inshore […]

Over inflated catch limits

November 23, 2021 The Minister’s recent decision to cut the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) for gurnard around the top half of the North Island by 65% is recognition that this was one of the species that was over allocated when TACCs were set in 1986. These allocations are no longer appropriate. Many of those historic TACCs were […]

LegaSea newsletter #115 – Get trawling & dredging out of the Gulf

November 23, 2021 A Horizon Research poll published on Friday by the Hauraki Gulf Forum revealed that 84% of those living in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park vicinity want destructive mobile contact fishing methods banned from the Gulf. This includes bottom trawling, scallop dredging and Danish seining. Only 3% wanted them to remain, with 13% with having no […]

The QMS. A rotten system

November 21, 2021 Tarakihi and bluenose are important target species for people fishing on the east coast of New Zealand, between Northland to Southland. Having them abundant and available is important for our social and cultural wellbeing, with the added bonus that they taste great when eaten fresh with family and friends. Under the Quota Management System (QMS) […]

Groups unite to call an end to all of bottom contact fishing in the Hauraki Gulf

November 19, 2021 Media release: 19 November 2021 Conservation groups and recreational fishers have banded together for the first time to call for an end to destructive mobile bottom contact fishing methods that destroy the seabed in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. The move follows the release today of an Horizon Research poll, commissioned by the Hauraki Gulf […]