“So the recreational activists can claim credit for the extension of the reviews and the continued discharge of fish at sea.”
Jones said his Fisheries Amendment Bill, now “marooned”, as he describes it, until after the elections – mainly because of objections from recreational fishers – would have provided a more practical alternative to what he calls the “tedious” process of reviewing the exceptions individually.
“We had the option of tidying up this unfinished business from the Labour regime via a new statute or going through a tedious process of review, and I regarded the tidiest way to address it was with a new statute,” Jones said.
The continued return of unwanted commercial catch to sea was among recreational fishing advocates’ objections to Jones’ bill, with LegaSea arguing commercial fishers should instead be incentivised to avoid unwanted catch through more selective fishing methods.
The dispute stems from changes introduced under the previous Labour Government in 2022, intended to reduce unwanted catch and encourage more selective fishing by tightening the circumstances in which commercial fishers could return quota-managed catch to sea.
Under the Fisheries Act 1996, quota-managed fish must generally be landed unless an exception applies. The 2022 changes required existing exceptions to be reviewed against new criteria, including whether fish are likely to survive release or whether retaining them would damage other catch.
Fisheries New Zealand acting director fisheries management James Andrew said much of the review programme was paused in early 2025 while broader changes to landing and discard rules were considered.
Reviews resumed after Jones’ Fisheries Amendment Bill was put on hold, but 22 remain outstanding, with associated regulatory work.
The extra two years would allow reviews to be completed and newer onboard-camera evidence and species-specific survival information to be considered, Andrew said.
National industry body Seafood New Zealand supported the extension to prevent waste and poor environmental outcomes.
It said the reviews should be decided on evidence rather than the deadline and warned some fish likely to survive release could otherwise have to be landed.
Jones’ Fisheries Amendment Bill proposed allowing quota-managed fish to be returned to sea where commercial fishing was monitored by an onboard camera or observer, while requiring the returned catch to be accounted for.
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Seafood New Zealand said it continued to support those “monitored returns”, which would still count against ACE or incur deemed values.
New Zealand Sport Fishing Council advocacy arm LegaSea, which has about 40,000 members, opposed that approach.
Spokeswoman Katie Goodwin said the public strongly rejected the Amendment Bill, in part, on the basis that it would have lowered the protections for fish and the marine environment.
“Recreational fishers are not responsible for fish dumped by commercial fishing vessels; it is a systemic problem that has existed since the outset of the Quota Management System (QMS) in 1986.”
Goodwin said allowing commercial fishers greater ability to return unwanted catch was not the solution.
“Legalising discards from commercial fishing vessels is not a fisheries management improvement,” she said.
LegaSea spokeswoman Katie Goodwin.
LegaSea instead supported moving the inshore industry away from bulk harvesting towards more selective fishing techniques.
Jones, however, turned the waste argument back on recreational fishers, pointing to Fisheries New Zealand research estimating about 248 tonnes, or 582,000 fish (mostly snapper), die annually after being released by recreational fishers in SNA1 (East Northland, the Hauraki Gulf, and Bay of Plenty).
He claimed a comparative rate for commercial fishers was estimated at about 80 tonnes (almost 190,000 fish).
Goodwin acknowledged recreational fishers had a responsibility to minimise their impact and said LegaSea promoted better practices through its FishCare programme.
“Pointing the finger at recreational fishers is merely a distraction from the real issue that the Quota Management System is failing and needs a serious review.”
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ journalism experience, much of it court reporting in Gisborne.