Stuart Nash attacks Russel Norman, says he lives in 'alternative reality'

Greenpeace NZ boss Russel Norman (pictured) is in a war of worlds with Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash over proposals to overhaul the commercial fishing industry. Photo / Dean Purcell

Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash has unleashed a verbal assault on Greenpeace boss Russel Norman, saying he lives in an alternate reality and his stories are nothing more than "pie in the sky".

But he has conceded that he has abandoned Labour's election pledge to hold an independent review of the fisheries quota system, which Norman says is the work of New Zealand First and its MP Shane Jones, who received a $10,000 donation from fishing company Talley's in 2017.

Jones, who has said the donation was within the rules, traded verbal blows with Norman last week, saying his "ranting" was part of a strategy to fundraise for Greenpeace.

Yesterday Nash released a discussion document to overhaul the commercial fishing industry and encourage a culture change to ensure that every fish is valued by the industry.

Among the proposals was a recommendation to cut down on the amount of fish that could be returned to the sea, and a new penalties system that included small fines for minor infringements.

But Norman said that the review was meant to be independent.

"The Labour policy is to have an independent inquiry. That got the kibosh. NZ First stopped that," Norman told Radio NZ's Morning Report.

"And it was Labour policy of course to have cameras on boats. Both of those are gone now. This is a big defeat for the Labour Party."

The consultation will be run by Fisheries NZ, within the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), which Norman said was "captured by the fishing industry".

He said the proposals would mean that fishing vessels could do what they wanted because, without on-board cameras, the rules were not enforceable. Even if they were caught, they would face an inconsequential fine of a few hundred dollars.

"It is outrageous. Every recreational fisher in the country should be up in arms, every environmentalist, every whānau that wants to catch a fish to feed their family. This is really a disgrace."

Norman said that when on-board cameras were trialled in 2012, they showed fishing vessels dumping up to half their catch.

"The environmental impact is tremendous. You're going through and catching all the juvenile fish, and then dumping them over the side and then getting away with it because MPI wasn't enforcing the rules."

Nash dismissed Norman as living in an "alternative reality".

"The one person across the environmental movement that I really struggle with is Russel Norman because he refuses to sit down and engage constructively. He comes up with these stories that are just pie in the sky," Nash told Morning Report.

"To say that the officials are captured by the commercial sector is just rubbish, and I find it quite insulting. No one is captured by any sector, at all."

Nash said staff at Fisheries NZ were competent.

"Why set up an independent working group at great cost when we don't need to?"

He said there would eventually be mandatory on-board cameras, but the policy needed to be worked out and would include public consultation later this year.

The previous Government had announced the policy without working out the details, Nash said.

"It's not a matter of going down and buying a GoPro, whacking it on a boat, and saying, 'Hey guys, you've got to record your stuff.'

"There's nothing worse than politicians sitting in their ivory towers in Wellington and rolling out a policy that has no basis in reality."

Norman repeated his criticism of Shane Jones for speaking out on a court case that MPI has brought against Talley's subsidiary Amaltal, which was allegedly bottom-trawling a protected area of the Tasman Sea.

"Outrageous intervention by a Cabinet Minister in the court process to basically support Talley's against MPI," Norman said.

"Incredible that this should be happening in our democracy. Really people should be up in arms about this.

"There should be no way that someone that receives all this money from Talley's in donations should be having such a big impact on fisheries policy."

Nash said he spoke with Jones on a range of issues, including fisheries.

"When Russel Norman says that Shane Jones is influencing our fishing policy, I can say to him that I'm the Minister of Fisheries. I have a programme I want to implement.

"I consult widely with NZF and the Greens on fisheries policy ... It is always a constructive discussion, but this is coalition politics."