Proposed technical changes 2022

DECISION: MIXED

Introduction

On 17 January 2022 Fisheries New Zealand (FNZ) advised 33 proposed operational changes to various fisheries regulations that cover customary, amateur, and commercial fisheries.

Submissions in response to the 2022 proposals were due by 4 March 2022. The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council submitted response to 9 of the 33 proposals in conjunction with a number of other organisations. As of October 2022, no decisions had been made.

On 18 September 2023 Fisheries New Zealand advised they had provided the Minister with an advice paper in September 2022. That paper asked the Minister to progress the minor technical changes ahead of the more complex issues.

FNZ advised the Minister that a separate advice paper addressing the remaining 33 proposals would be provided towards the end of 2022.

Outcome

Following the advice paper, amendments were made to the Fisheries Act. The amendments mean that amateur daily bag limits can now be implemented by changes to the Fisheries (Recreational Management Controls) Notice. More FNZ info here.

Most of the regulation changes have applied from 6 October 2023.

The only exceptions are the amendments relating to circle hook requirements when surface longlining, which applied from August 2023, and the changes to the packhorse crayfish method of measurement will apply from 1 April 2024.

FNZ expect to release decisions on other changes in late 2023 or early 2024.

On 26 March 2025, FNZ advised changes to commercial fishing regulations to enable spearfishing in some areas around the South Island and lower North Island, and the use of UBA to harvest scallops commercially.

Relevant documents are below.

Proposals

Below is a table of the proposals we submitted on.

Proposal description	Decision
Proposal 8 – Amendment to method of measurement for packhorse rock lobster	Agreed
Proposal 9 – Amendment to definition of certain categories of prohibited rock lobster	Agreed
Proposal 10 – Enable commercial fishers to use underwater breathing apparatus to take scallops	Pending
Proposal 11 – Enable spearfishing by commercial fishers	Pending
Proposal 15 – Prohibit use of ‘J’ hooks by surface longline fleet	Agreed
Proposal 19 – Reducing amateur daily limit for quinnat salmon in marine waters to one fish per day	Agreed
Proposal 20 – Amendments to Chatham Islands amateur daily limit provisions	Agreed
Proposal 24 – Amend labelling requirements for amateur fishers taking rock lobster in CRA 5	Agreed
Proposal 29 – Clarification that amateur fishers may bleed blue cod	Agreed
Proposal 30 – Amendments to defence on possession of blue cod by amateur fishers	Agreed

Submission

The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council worked with the New Zealand Underwater Association, the New Zealand Angling & Casting Association and LegaSea to develop submissions in response to the FNZ proposals.

The joint submitters made several recommendations in the submission including the need for the Minister to let South Island fishers fillet aboard if blue cod frames are kept in a measurable state, and the need to prohibit ‘J’ hooks on surface longline fleets in favour of less damaging hooks like 18/0 circle hooks.

Our submissions were collated into two different documents – One specifically for proposal 10, another discussing the other proposals.

Relevant information

2025

FNZ summary

2024

FNZ Notice

2022

FNZ advice

Submissions

Proposal