Shane Jones overhauls fisheries management, hints at further deregulation

Wednesday, 12 February 2025

Shane Jones launches fisheries reforms on Wellington waterfront.

The government is proposing a shake-up of how catch limits for the commercial fishing industry are set, and excluding some vessels from the camera monitoring programme.

A consultation document, released Wednesday, also moots exempting the programme from the Official Information Act. That means footage wouldn’t be available to the public. The scheme was implemented in the wake of a fish-dumping scandal, and is also designed to reduce the accidental death of protected wildlife.

Commercial fishers would also now be allowed to throw unwanted fish overboard monitored by on-board cameras or observers. Currently, they must bring their entire catch back to port to be verified.

It also introduces pre-set decision rules for setting fish stock limits.

This change was removed from proposed legislation by Labour after an outcry in 2022. Opponents argued it fails to take in ecosystem changes to stocks and removes the minister and the public from decision making.

And it will allow holders of an annual entitlement (known as ACE) to carry-over uncaught fish into succeeding years. Critics have argued this increases the risks of overfishing.

The suite of proposed changes were announced by Fisheries Minister Shane Jones on Wellington waterfront and will go to the public for feedback.

Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says the proposed reforms for the sector are the “most significant in decades”.

He was flanked by executives from the fishing industry, including Moana, Sealord and lobby group Seafood New Zealand, who welcomed the move.

Jones said the package was“the most significant reforms in the sector for decades.” He said the industry generated around $1.6 billion in exports each year and employed 9000 people.

It was designed to update the fisheries quota management system using data and technology, which would reduce costs and a red tape burden on the fleet, Jones said.

The reforms came out of a “working party” made up of representatives from major companies Sandford, Talley’s, Moana, Sealord, and smaller players from the crayfish industry.

And he hinted at further deregulation.

“Underneath this document is a deeper philosophical debate,” Jones said. “You would know that New Zealand has an unusual fishing management system in terms of other countries, because we have the property rights-based quota system.

“And the expectation of about 15-20, years ago is that the quid pro quo is that the industry would be enabled to enjoy greater self-regulatory powers.”

Doug Paulin, chief executive of Sealord, said the reforms were a “start” but confirmed industry was working with government to drive more changes.

“That document is under preparation as we speak,” he said.

Seafood New Zealand CEO Lisa Futschek described the proposals as “common sense”.

“These proposed changes have the potential to improve current outdated regulations that are holding back innovation and growth,” she said.

The reforms would exclude bottom longline vessels that are 32mor larger, set net vessels using the mothership and tender model, and all vessels less than 8m in length.

Seabirds are especially vulnerable to longlining.

Also proposed are changes to how the Total Allowable Catch (or TAC) is set. That is the total quantity of each fish stock that can be caught in a given year. The Minister would be able to set limits for up to five years at a time.

Owners will also be able to “carry forward” uncaught fish from their Annual Catch Entitlement (ACE).

But the changes have attracted ire from recreational fishers and environmentalists.

WWF-New Zealand CEO Kayla Kingdon-Bebb said the plans would undermine the ability of decision-makers to manage fisheries “adaptively” in the face of climate change.

Blue cod is one of the species environmentalists say will be affected by the changes.

“We need more cameras - not fewer - and they should be extended to the entire commercial fishing fleet, including the deepwater fleet, which harvests the vast majority of New Zealand’s commercial catch.”

She pointed to data from the programme which revealed under-reporting of discards and protected species bycatch by commercial fishers – with nearly a seven-fold increase in the number of dolphins captured and albatross interactions up by 3.5 times what was previously reported.

“Greater transparency and accuracy in the reporting of protected species bycatch and non-target discards is incredibly important to ensure the sustainability of our marine resources now and into the future,” she said.

Sam Woolford, LegaSea program lead, said the announcement read like “an industry wishlist and reeks of regulatory capture”.

“Cameras on boats have shown 46% more discards than what was previously being reported. How can we take this proposal to limit transparency seriously?

The advocacy group launched a campaign to overturn pre-set decision making three years ago, arguing it threatened the sustainability of blue cod, crayfish and snapper.

Green Party Oceans and Fisheries spokesperson Teanau Tuiono said: “Minister Jones has stated ‘sustainability will always be the bottom line for fisheries management,’ but we have seen decisions from the Government completely contradict and undermine this.

“Today’s proposed changes seem to reward industry for overfishing, posing a significant threat to the sustainability and longevity of our oceans.”