New Zealand Parliament has proposed several amendments to the nation’s fisheries bill.
Amendments lawmakers have proposed to the bill, which was passed in 1996, include removing minimum commercial catch size limits for specific species, expanding the range of options for setting and adjusting sustainable catch limits, allowing commercial fishers to return species managed under the country’s quota management system (QMS) to the sea when fishing activities are monitored by an onboard camera or an observer, exempting camera footage from Information Act requests, and more.
Industry representative group Seafood New Zealand welcomed the proposed changes, saying in a release that they represent a “practical update that will help keep New Zealand’s fisheries management system responsive, science-based, and environmentally robust.”
“New Zealand’s fisheries are a public resource that must be managed carefully. We support changes that help ensure healthy fisheries which all New Zealanders can enjoy,” New Zealand Seafood CEO Lisa Futschek said. “The reality is that fishers already operate under strict limits, monitoring, and accountability measures. The amendments are designed to improve efficiency and clarity within the system while maintaining strong sustainability outcomes.”
Though New Zealand’s commercial seafood industry has largely expressed relief that the amendments would reduce regulatory burdens, conservation NGOs in the Oceanic nation largely condemned the proposed changes.
In a release, Greenpeace said the changes “would significantly reduce public input on ocean management and hand unprecedented control over to the fishing industry – while eroding scrutiny.”
“This bill is a bonfire. It’s a blank check written for the trawling industry that incentivizes the most destructive types of fishing and gives the middle finger to New Zealanders who care about protecting the ocean. It is absolutely one of the worst fisheries policies we’ve seen in decades,” Greenpeace Oceans Lead Ellie Hooper said. “Nobody voted for this, and already, we’ve heard strong objections from New Zealanders across the political spectrum – from recreational fishers to environmentalists and ocean advocates. People want a healthy thriving ocean, a move away from destructive bottom trawling, and to know what the industry impact is on the ocean. These amendments are the opposite of that.”
New Zealand Seafood retorted that changes, such as removing minimum size limits, that NGOs are claiming have not been consulted on have actually undergone careful consideration for multiple years.
“There have been a lot of concerns raised about removing minimum size rules. There have been statements claiming that these changes haven’t been consulted on, but in reality, these are the results of changes made to the system in 2022 and have been consulted on multiple times, including last year,” Futschek said.
Meanwhile, NGO Forest and Bird said it is “incredibly disappointed” that issues brought up during previous consultation sessions have gone largely ignored in the latest draft of the bill.
“This is a disaster for marine ecosystems and fish stocks that are already in trouble,” Forest and Bird Marine Lead Chelsea McGaw said. “Not only have our concerns been dismissed, but even more worrying and destructive changes are being proposed, which may lead to the extinction of some species. This amendment bill is the largest change to fisheries legislation since the quota system was introduced in 1986 – and is being touted as ‘modernizing’ the fishing industry. The changes put a greater focus on short-term economic and export benefits in a time that requires sustainable fishing methods.”
The Primary Production Committee of New Zealand has opened the amendments up to public comment through 29 April, and Minister for Fisheries and Oceans Shane Jones, who introduced the bill, has declared intention for the final draft of the bill to be presented for an initial vote by 6 August.
