Maori Fisheries Trust Te Ohu Kaimoana says that iwi have commercial interests in the area, and it is irrelevant that they had not fished the area for several years.
The trust was disappointed with the absence of consultation on the proposed sanctuary, saying that it was only told 10 hours before the Government confirmed the initiative at a high-profile event in New York in September.
Mr Key said the Government would consider including iwi in the governance of the sanctuary. But compensation for affected Maori was out of the question.
Northern iwi Ngati Kuri and Te Aupouri, which had rights to the Kermadec fishing grounds, have not commercially fished there for more than five years.
NZH