New Zealand’s fisheries, or rather the new Fisheries Bill intended to replace the current Fisheries Act, which is currently progressing through parliament, has drawn a fair bit of public attention. And rightly so. The last few months have seen some very public spats between NZ First’s Shane Jones, Minister of Fisheries, and recreational fishing advocates, most notably TV personality Matt Watson of ITM Fishing Show fame, arguably New Zealand’s best known recreational fisher. It’s hard not to believe that some of the more inflammatory proposals Jones was advocating – allowing marlin to be landed commercially (currently illegal), removing minimum sizes for commercially caught fish species, opening 19 currently protected
reef fish species to commercial exploitation, among others – were orchestrated just to get the public’s attention. It worked – recreational fishers and other concerned groups got very excited, posting on social media and venting their anger at public meetings around the country. The upshot? The proposals that most triggered public outrage – commercial marlin, no minimum size, reef fish – were dropped from the draft Bill (at least for now…) under the guise of “we listened to the people…” These concessions may have calmed the waters somewhat, but all the fuss has drawn attention away from even more serious issues with the Bill: allowing dumping of unwanted fish at sea, the removal of environmental protections, and reduced public consultation, affecting the public’s ability to participate in fisheries management. The commercial lobby is also pushing back on having to supply onboard camera footage (what are you trying to hide, guys?), and the Bill also proposes reducing penalties for fishers who exceed their quota.
Worst of all, the new Bill doesn’t address destructive fishing methods (think bottom trawling) and depleted fish stocks. It will not provide a healthier marine environment nor ensure more fish in the water, goals all of us who love the ocean must surely support. The existing Fisheries Act has its flaws, not least the antiquated private rights Quota Management System now controlled by a handful of large corporates, but its protections and overall intent remain sound. Reform is necessary, but in my opinion – one I share with many other Kiwi fishers and boaters – this new Bill should be withdrawn in its entirety.
