Plenty is possible: ACT to bring abundance to our fisheries

“ACT will unlock the potential of our oceans and create a state of plenty: more fish in the water, better fishing for New Zealanders, and stronger fisheries for the future with new fisheries policy,” says ACT’s Conservation spokesperson Cameron Luxton. 

“New Zealand has some of the richest marine resources in the world. Fishing supports jobs and exports, puts food on the table, and is part of the way millions of New Zealanders enjoy our coastline. 

“A healthy marine environment is the foundation of a successful fishing industry. ACT’s six-part plan will unlock New Zealand’s fishing potential by rebuilding fish stocks, protecting vulnerable marine environments, and creating the conditions for better recreational and commercial fishing.

1. ACT will establish a distinct fisheries management area matching the boundaries of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. Currently, commercially important fish stocks within the Gulf can be managed as part of much larger fisheries areas, which can conceal depletion. ACT’s plan would allow local catch settings to rebuild depleted stocks while preserving existing quota holders’ proportional property rights.

2. ACT will address overharvesting of shellfish and other marine life, and stripping of rock pools. ACT would introduce a nationwide combined recreational daily bag limit of 10 for shellfish and other covered species that do not already have their own individual daily limit. ACT supports recreational gathering. This allows people who collect modest amounts for themselves to carry on, while preventing a small number of people from stripping an area.

3. ACT will permanently end scallop dredging in currently closed North Island scallop fisheries and enable selective harvesting technologies as stocks recover. Scallop dredging is the most destructive harvesting method available in New Zealand. If scallop populations eventually recover, there is no reason to automatically return to dragging dredges across the ocean floor when more selective harvesting methods are available or can be developed.

4. ACT will require Fisheries New Zealand to quantify the economic and environmental cost of high-impact fishing methods and adjust existing fisheries levies in a way that doesn’t increase them, but ensures they’re proportionate to damage caused. Not all fishing methods impose the same costs. Lower-impact methods may catch the same fish while imposing substantially less damage than bottom trawling and dredging. 

5. ACT will increase and stagger fisheries infringement fees so penalties reflect the seriousness of the offending and provide a genuine deterrent. Deterrents only work if the consequences for deliberately breaking them are large enough to stop offending. The current penalties are unbalanced, with serious offenders seeing the current fines as an inconvenience, not a roadblock. ACT’s graduated structure will put a stop to that.

6. ACT will change the way important fisheries are managed, aiming for higher fish stocks and greater abundance rather than treating maximum sustainable yield as the target. New Zealand’s fisheries should aim for more than having just enough fish in the water to sustain the maximum possible catch. This change reinforces that catching fish is normal, scarcity is not. It also means a better chance of bringing something home with less time and effort for fishers across the board.

“A healthy marine environment is the foundation of a successful fishing industry. Abundant fish stocks are good for commercial fishers, recreational fishers and the wider ecosystem. 

“ACT’s approach is to protect the resource while preserving the freedom to use it. That means rebuilding fisheries where they are depleted, protecting vulnerable habitats from genuine damage, and replacing blunt restrictions with rules focused on actual risks.

“We live in a bloody paradise and we need to look after it. ACT will unlock the potential of our fisheries so our oceans support more fish, more opportunity and better fishing for generations to come.”

Note to Editors: Policy detail can be found here