Plenty Is Possible

New Zealand should be one of the best places in the world to fish. Whether you make your living at sea or take the kids out on a Saturday, there should be more fish in the water and a fair chance of bringing something home.

Instead, too many fisheries are managed around scarcity. Local depletion can be hidden inside huge management areas, vulnerable coastlines can be stripped, and blunt rules can punish responsible fishers without stopping the real damage.

ACT believes plenty is possible. We will protect the resource without locking people out of it, rebuild fisheries where they are depleted, and manage important stocks for abundance rather than the bare minimum.

Read our full policy, Unlocking New Zealand’s Fishing Potential, here.

ACT will:

• Restore abundance in the Hauraki Gulf. Establish a distinct fisheries management area matching the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, so catch settings reflect what is actually happening within the Gulf instead of averaging it across a much larger area. Existing quota holders would keep their proportional property rights.

• Stop rock pools being stripped. Introduce a nationwide combined recreational daily bag limit of 10 for shellfish and other covered species that do not already have their own limit. Families could still gather a modest feed, but a small number of people could no longer strip an area bare.

• Keep scallop dredges out of closed fisheries. Permanently end dredging in currently closed North Island scallop fisheries and allow selective, lower-impact harvesting if stocks recover.

• Make fishing levies reflect the damage caused. Require Fisheries New Zealand to assess the environmental and economic costs of major harvesting methods, then rebalance existing levies without increasing the overall burden. Higher-impact methods would pay a greater share and lower-impact fishing would pay less.

• Make serious rule-breaking carry serious consequences. Increase and stagger infringement fees so minor breaches are treated differently from deliberate, repeat or large-scale offending.

• Aim for abundance, not survival. Stop treating maximum sustainable yield as the finish line. ACT will progressively manage important fisheries for larger fish populations, giving them room to withstand poor spawning years, changing conditions and mistakes in the science.

In our team’s words:

ACT Conservation spokesperson Cameron Luxton says:

“Fishing puts food on New Zealand tables whether it is caught off the rocks or picked up with Friday night’s chips. It supports people who make their living at sea and is part of growing up in this country.

“We should not accept decline as normal. A system that aims to leave just enough fish in the water to sustain the maximum possible catch is setting the bar too low. ACT wants real abundance.

“A larger fish population gives us breathing room when spawning is poor or the science gets it wrong. It also means commercial crews spend less time and fuel finding their catch, while families have a better chance of bringing home dinner.

“New Zealanders do not have to choose between fishing and conservation. A healthy marine environment is what makes a successful fishing industry possible. The answer is to target the actual harm, protect vulnerable places and back responsible fishers."