SUBMISSIONS HAVE NOW CLOSED, YOU CAN SIGN OUR PETITION HERE
Toitū te marae a Tāne, toitū te marae a Tangaroa, toitū te tangata.
If the land is well and the sea is well, the people will thrive.
Here in Aotearoa, many of us have a deep connection with the ocean. The moana is more than water – it's where we swim, connect with nature, and gather kai to feed our whānau.
Right now, the moana is being overfished to the point of collapse. Bottom trawling is wreaking havoc on marine habitats. Our seabirds, dolphins and other marine life are paying the price for destructive and outdated fishing practices.
This Government is set on making things worse. Their Fisheries Amendment Bill is proposing the most significant and egregious changes to our fisheries in over a generation. You didn’t vote for this.
Please take ten minutes today to make a submission on the Fisheries Amendment Bill. We have prepared a submission guide below.
Submit now
Making your voice heard on these changes now will make it clear to the Government that New Zealanders want to prioritise the protection of our oceans and not commercial interests.
Submissions do not need to be long or comment on all aspects of the Bill. What matters is that your position is clear. Try including personal examples in your submission, such as why you and your whānau value a healthy and thriving ocean.
You now have until May 6th to submit!
What is the Fisheries Amendment Bill?
The Fisheries Amendment Bill proposes a range of changes to how our fisheries system works. Most of these changes were requested by the commercial fishing sector. Following the bill’s release, the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones, was forced to reel back on his shortsighted plan to allow commercial fishers to sell undersized fish. This proposed change was bad, but there are still many fishhooks in this terrible bill.
Why does this matter?
The Government are promoting this bill as a way to increase the value of our seafood exports, but really it will see commercial interests put ahead of public access and environmental sustainability. Our oceans and fisheries are taonga to protect, not a commodity to export. Last year, the Government asked the public for their views on many of these crazy changes—over 90% of the 27,000 submitters rejected the proposals.
What could my submission say?
Make it clear you OPPOSE the Fisheries Amendment Bill by saying:
I strongly oppose the proposed Fisheries Amendment Bill, this bill sacrifices our long-term wellbeing for profit by putting the commercial fishing industry ahead of everyday Kiwis who want to see our oceans thriving with abundance.
If you want to make a longer submission, we recommend you tell the Select Committee you are concerned that the Fisheries Amendment Bill will:
1. Weaken environmental protections.
- Removing the Minister’s duty to reduce maximum catch limits in depleted fisheries.
- Delaying catch reductions in depleted fisheries if cuts “harm commercial interests”.
- Allowing quota owners to stockpile catch entitlements rather than reduce actual catch.
- Legalising the landing and sale of undersized fish.
2. Prioritise commercial fishers and exports over every day New Zealanders.
- Giving industry voluntary measures statutory weight.
- Tight restrictions on public access to on-board camera footage.
3. Cuts out the public vote by:
- Setting catch limits for up to five years at a time with only one public consultation.
- Putting a 20-day limit on judicial review.
Our friends over at LegaSea have put together a longer submissions guide if you want to make a more detailed submission.