Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones releases a consultation document on potential fishing regulation reforms. Video / Mark Mitchell
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has confirmed a suite of pro-industry changes to the Fisheries Act this morning.
The changes include “efficient and effective decision-making when setting sustainable catch limits”, restrictions on allowing people to use the Official Information Act (OIA) to request footage captured on fishing boats,and restrictions on the ability to litigate quota decisions.
Jones described the changes as the “most significant reforms to the Fisheries Act for decades”.
He said they reflected his “commitment to the success of our fishing industry, which generates around $1.5 billion in exports each year”.
“A key feature of the reforms is more efficient and effective decision-making when setting sustainable catch limits. The changes mean specific fisheries will be able to have rules that automatically respond to changes in abundance for up to five years.
“These rules will be subject to the usual scientific evaluation and consultation processes but will allow for greater catch when there are more fish in the water and more responsive intervention when fisheries need to recover,” he said.
Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones during his stand-up on the Wellington waterfront where he released a consultation document on “the most significant reforms” of New Zealand’s fisheries for decades. 12 February, 2025. NZME photograph by Mark Mitchell
This change replaces the slower process currently in place, where each change must be assessed and considered separately, Jones said.
Another significant change is the exclusion of footage captured by cameras on fishing boats from being requested under the OIA.
“The information from on-board cameras will continue to contribute to fisheries management but camera footage will not be subject to the Official Information Act 1982,” Jones said.
“Fishers won’t need to worry about private or commercially sensitive footage being publicly released and either deliberately or unintentionally misconstrued.”
While supported by industry, the proposals copped criticism in February when they were consulted on.
The Green Party’s oceans and fisheries spokesman Teanau Tuiono said in February the proposals “seem to reward industry for overfishing, posing a significant threat to the sustainability and longevity of our oceans”.
“If the minister truly cared about sustainability he would ban bottom trawling and champion sustainable, adaptive fishing practices, which will increasingly be required in the context of climate change,” he said.
Greenpeace oceans campaigner Ellie Hooper described the reforms as “dodgy”.
“The controversial changes are some of the largest in decades, and would restrict public access to cameras on boats footage, remove the requirement for fishers to land all their catch, and stop legal challenges to catch limits that have been successful in protecting species in recent years,” she said.
An amendment bill will be introduced this year and people will have a further opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed changes during the select committee process.
Jones is the former chairman of the seafood company Sealord and was a one-time member of the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission.
He declared donations from the industry for the 2023 election.
