This week, Seafood New Zealand and their star employee, Shane Jones, are celebrating.
Sweeping amendments proposed to the Fisheries Act under the Fisheries Amendment Bill sign the ocean over to corporate fishing companies, incentivising trawling, and silencing New Zealanders right to have a say on how the moana is treated.
It’s these corporate fishing companies, after all, that have such a spotless track record when it comes to taking care of the waters that surround us.
Under their careful watch, orange roughy and tarahiki stocks have crashed, hundreds of tonnes of coral has been dragged up from the deep, scallop beds decimated from Northland to the Coromandel – and that’s before we even get to the plight of our seabirds, starving hoiho penguin, or critically endangered Māui dolphin.
Crewmen on New Zealand bottom trawler Waipori wrestle with a large piece of Paragorgia coral hauled up from the deep sea.
What’s wrong with the Fisheries Amendment Bill?
But this bill wants to give the industry more power to trash the sea, and to do so away from the prying eyes of the New Zealand public.
Jones’ bill proposes locking up cameras on boats footage and slapping up to $50,000 fines on individuals, organisations or journalists who’d dare expose the bare reality of fishing impact. It restricts public consultation, and makes the timeframe so short for challenging bad decisions – it’ll be nigh on impossible to do so.
It comes as little surprise that the seafood industry’s puppet, Jones, is trying hard to keep the sector’s secrets. Only those fully aware of the destructive nature of their fishing, and the growing wave of public opposition to them, would be so fragile.
Why fix what’s broken when you can simply hide the evidence instead?
But what’s perhaps more surprising is that National, with their huge constituency of ocean lovers and recreational fishers, seem to care little what message they are sending by backing this bill.
Boats and kayaks surround a large floating ban bottom trawling banner in the Hauraki Gulf during a 2023 protest
National voters want more ocean protection
The vast majority of New Zealanders – including National voters – are in agreement that commercial fishing in this country has got to change, that more protection is necessary from the destructiveness of bottom trawling, not less. In fact there’s a man-come-fish, Jono Ridler, literally swimming the length of the North Island to demonstrate this.
The public are against the Fisheries Amendment Bill
90% of the 27,000 submitters on the original amendments to the bill opposed them in 2025. Those concerns have not been reflected in the bill that’s been released. In fact, it’s been made worse. And this all with the context that 100,000 people have also signed petitions opposing bottom trawling.
Minister Shane Jones – doing industry’s bidding
In contrast, a redacted document reveals that after the consultation period closed last year, Jones responded urgently to the submission of one mystery seafood sector actor, who complained that deep-sea trawlers would still not get enough of a free ride under the amendment bill. As a result, Jones added a carve out for deep-sea trawlers not to be penalised for catching fish they’re not targeting. Forget about selective fishing, Jones is only interested in selective listening.
He’s also proposed an ingenious solution for undersized fish: remove the minimum size altogether. Under the bill amendments – catching baby fish is fine, screw the ecosystem impacts.
Nets full of juvenile sharks are hauled in on the bottom trawler Amatal Atlantis on the Chatham Rise, New Zealand.
© Paul Hilton / Greenpeace
Shane Jones doesn’t care what New Zealanders want
With this bill Shane Jones has written in bold letters: I don’t care what New Zealanders think or want, only the industrial bottom trawl companies who line my pockets.
In an election year, it’s abundantly clear the game Jones is playing: promise commercial fishing donors the world, to fund his campaign for re-election.
National and PM Chris Luxon have a chance to step up
But perhaps someone should remind National that their voters don’t support ocean destruction, in fact they want the opposite. Letting Jones continue to run rampant with the Ministry is not going to buy them any votes with their constituents, unless their election strategy 2026 is to officially concede defeat now. Up the creek, without a paddle, with only some cut-price undersized snapper for company.
PETITION: Ban bottom trawling on seamounts
Join the call to demand that the NZ Govt bans bottom trawling on seamounts and similar deep sea features, and stop issuing permits for bottom trawling in international waters.