Kia ora Friend, As we reel in 2023, it's a time to celebrate and reflect on all that we have achieved, thanks to your support.
Together we have taken a stand against bottom trawling, the Industry Transformation Plan, the over allocation of our fish and even created chopping boards made out of trawl nets. Saying it was an eventful year would be a huge understatement. Our vision is a fisheries management system which acknowledges that social and economic prosperity is only possible IF WE FIRST prioritise the health of the marine environment. This begins by rebuilding coastal fish populations to a minimum of 50% of their original size Because the fish are owned by all New Zealanders, we also want to see a priority is given to feeding kiwis through commercial and non-commercial channels.
Thanks to all of you for your ongoing support. With you in our corner, we can continue to advocate for more fish in the sea for you and your whānau. |
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This was the biggest year for The Kai Ika Project. We expanded into Wellington and distributions from Papatūānuku Kōkiri Marae in Mangere continue to grow.
In 2023 alone we distributed 100,000 kgs of food, giving it to bellies instead of landfill. That's 35,000 meals created for Kiwi whānau, and the equivalent of 34,000 fish that aren't being caught and are alive in our oceans to breed for future generations. This simple process of sharing kai has also prevented 269,000 kgs of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere.
We also launched Cans for Kai, a fundraising initiative with our partners Phoenix Metalman Recycling. This involves us collecting aluminium drink cans. Phoenix buy and recycle them, giving us all that hard-earned cash to keep funding our project.
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kgs of kaimoama distributed to families throughout the community |
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submissions were made to the the government to push for conservative approaches to NZ's fisheries |
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Our current Quota Management System remains broken. Meaningful fisheries management is vital to restoring biodiversity and our coastal fish populations. LegaSea works in a support and fundraising role to the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council in advocating for reform and conservative approaches to our fisheries allocations.
We supported communities advocating for rāhui and temporary closures. This included temporary closures in areas including the Coromandel scallops, Tutukaka, and Napier reef to better address local depletion.
2023 was a big year for the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. We actively participated in multiple workshops, submitting on three Plans and Bills crucial for shaping the future of the Gulf. We made it clear that destructive fishing methods such as bottom trawling, dredging, and Danish seining must be banned.
On a positive note we celebrated the previous Minister's decision to ban commercial kina dredging in the Tory Channel, Marlborough Sounds. Our submission highlighted the destructive nature of dredging and encouraged hand-gathering alternatives for collecting kina.
We supported our friends in the mighty Waikato by making a submission on the proposed Waikato Regional Council Coastal Plan. We advocated that the WRC considers the values of recreational fishing and areas vulnerable to disturbance. We actively participated in five Total Allowable Catch (TAC) reviews covering trevally, gurnard, kina, pāua, and crayfish across New Zealand. |
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public engagements in LegaSea campaigns |
| With a Quota Management System that allows for the over-allocation of our fisheries and destructive fishing methods, it's essential that people like you are taking a stand against this.
We had a whopping 57,234 public engagements in LegaSea campaigns. This includes 36,000 signatures and 14,764 public submissions to eliminate bottom trawling from the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park; 2900 public submissions to oppose the Fishing Industry Transformation Plan that would subsidise new trawlers and over 1200 public submissions on the Waikato Regional Council Coastal Plan.
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Our FishCare programme returned with a bang last year. Non-commercial fishers can also play our part in marine conservation. FishCare promotes the best tips and tricks so we can minimise impact on our oceans and marine life.
Our Charter Boat Voluntary Code of Conduct was launched at the start of summer. Fourteen Kiwi charter companies immediately jumped onboard and now promote the "Best Practice" techniques. We aim to see the code of conduct being talked about on the water by as many charter legends as possible.
We collaborated with CDX to release a selection of FishCare specific tackle and equipment. These include rubber nets, hook releasers, circle hooks and sunglasses. The aim is to get people using the right gear out on the water to ensure maximum survival of the fish and make sure these fishos are also looking after themselves in the process!
We also launched Card Sharks with Turkish Bread. This saw 2 million cards placed into the packs of their delicious pizza bases to be shared with pizza-loving, ocean-loving Kiwis across NZ. This programme helped educate kids and adults alike with fascinating facts about our local sharks and rays. |
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entries from the FishCare Turkish Bread Card Shark competition |
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online engagements in 2023, an increase of 68% from 2022 |
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Supporter engagement is at the core of what we do here at LegaSea. From events, social media, articles, newsletters and being in the media, each year is bigger and better than the last. Supporter engagement is how we let you know what is happening in New Zealand coastal fisheries and how you can help.
A major part of our engagement is attending events, share our mission with new faces or get to know those who have been supporting us for a while. In 2023 our team attended over 20 events and met around 80,000 different people. Thank you to everyone who said hello. Keep an eye out for us in 2024.
We worked hard to make sure that you were informed and kept up to date while you were at home. 25 newsletters were sent and at least 40 news articles written and published. To top that off our social media got an overhaul and we engaged with over 680,000 people. By the end of 2023 we had a massive 13,000 new subscribers in our supporter database, 50,000 followers on Facebook and 5000 on Instagram.
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was fundraised in 2023 to continue our work to restore our coastal fisheries. |
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Partners contributed over $465,000 to this, which includes 1 new Platinum and 11 new Gold Partners. Grants exceeded $480,000 and our amazing LegaSea Legends contributed $100,000.
We also calculated that we received a remarkable $310,000 in volunteer hours and in-kind contributions from our supporters!
We also sold over $82,000 of LegaSea merchandise for our work, including the 500 kingi boards that sold out in record time. |
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We rely on your contributions to do our work. So if you would like to see us continue to push effectively for a healthy marine environment and more fish in the water, please consider becoming a legend and donating to the cause. A massive shout out to our Platinum, Gold, Building and Works partners who are our life blood and give us the confidence to keep fighting and striving for a fair go for future generation. Thank you. |
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