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Photo by Stephanie Kirk

Kia ora Friend,

 

You have just over 24 hours left to help us Kill the Bill.

 

Public submissions on the Fisheries Amendment Bill close at 11:59 pm tomorrow! (Wednesday 6 May).

 

The Bill is fundamentally flawed and does not deliver a better future for our fisheries, our marine environment, or us. If passed, these amendments will become our reality and fewer fish in the water will be our lasting legacy.

 

Specifically, the Bill will:

  1. Ban public access to camera footage and impose $50,000 fines for those who leak any footage. 
  2. Allow the Minister to ignore the wider consequences of fishing on the marine environment and other species when setting catch limits. 
  3. Restrict our ability to legally challenge the Minister's fisheries decisions to just 20 days.
  4. Allow more fish to be dumped overboard. 
  5. Slash fines for commercial fishers who exceed their catch limits.

There are more amendments in the Bill that are just as offensive or worse than those mentioned above. 

 

The Bill must be stopped in its entirety, and IT CAN be stopped if enough of us speak up.

 

Political parties - including the National Party - have said they will not support the Bill at its second reading if there is strong public opposition.

 

That means your submission carries weight. Get stuck in and help stop it now. 

 

Please don't leave it to someone else. Make your submission now before it's too late. Then get your family, friends, neighbours and work colleagues to do the same.

 

Let's Kill the Bill for our fish, our marine environment and future generations.

 

👉 Make your submission now

Learn more about the Fisheries Amendment Bill

Tonight is your last chance to stop the Fisheries Amendment Bill

A Horizon Research poll of 1000 New Zealanders, released today ahead of submissions closing tomorrow night, puts numbers on what many already suspected. More than half of those surveyed oppose allowing the Minister to set catch limits without considering environmental impacts. Nearly two thirds oppose reduced financial penalties for vessels exceeding legal catch limits. And 53 percent support the government withdrawing the Bill entirely to allow proper public consultation.

Boating NZ, May 2026

 

Matt Watson urging submissions

These submissions are making a difference, we just need more to help get the fisheries amendment bill thrown out. 

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Quick Facts about the Fisheries Amendment Bill

 

🪝  What are LegaSea's main concerns with the Fisheries Amendment Bill?

The Fisheries Amendment Bill is fundamentally flawed and does not deliver a better future for our fisheries. Our marine environment. Or us. Specifically the Bill will:

  • Remove environmental safeguards, allowing the Minister to set catch limits without considering the wider consequences of fishing on the marine environment and other species.
  • Shut the public out of having a say in changes to catch limits for up to five years, passing more decision-making power to commercial operators.
  • Prioritise exporting and exploiting our fish. Kiwis will be left with the leftovers and a degraded marine environment.
  • Subsidise commercial operators so they can continue current practices, including trawling and dredging, while depleting a public resource. 
  • Reduce transparency and public oversight, ban public access to onboard camera footage.
  • Remove minimum size limits for certain species on commercial boats. Allowing commercial operators to keep and sell baby fish before they've had the chance to reproduce. *(The PM has said this will be removed at the Select Committee stage).
  • Prioritise short-term commercial interests ahead of rebuilding fish stocks and protecting the wider marine environment.
  • More fish thrown overboard. Relax the rules to allow for more dead, dying fish to be legally dumped overboard. Further entrenching the use of indiscriminate, bulk harvesting fishing methods.
  • Restrict the public's ability to legally challenge the Minister's fisheries decisions.
 

🪝  How can I help Kill the Fisheries Amendment Bill?

Speak up. Oppose the Bill by making a submission by 29 April 2026. Click here to build your submission using LegaSea's online template. Then go tell your friends and family to submit. Tell them this will be one of the most important things they do before the November election. The Amendment Bill has passed its first reading and is now before the Select Committee. This is our last chance to make our voice heard and stop these changes from becoming law.

 

🪝  How do I make a submission on the Fisheries Amendment Bill?

LegaSea has created an online template to help guide your submission. Once you've built your submission, copy and paste the content into the form on the Parliamentary webpage.

 

Click here for more FAQs.

How to help

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