Kia ora Friend,
Thank you.
When we asked for donations two weeks ago, we weren't sure what to expect. The response was better than we hoped, and it's already making a difference - more resource behind the Kill the Bill campaign, more of the 40-plus fisheries reviews and consultations we track each year getting a proper response instead of being left on the pile. None of this happens without people doing the background work - reading the technical papers, writing the submissions, showing up to the meetings that don't make headlines.
There's still more we can do. Every extra dollar means another submission written, another consultation properly reviewed, another fight we don't have to sit out. If you're able to help, even a small amount makes a real difference.
There are various ways to donate. Become a regular donor, or making a one-off contribution is great too. LegaSea Legends start at $20 a month. If you're a business we have multiple options.
We're celebrating that so many of you care enough to be part of LegaSea, contributing to the long-term health of our marine environment and a return to abundance. That's got to be good for our kids and theirs. The LegaSea team
Click here to find out how you can help. |
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Photo OneNews
You may be pleased to learn that the Minister, Shane Jones, has referred to LegaSea as 'recreational activists'. When he says 'LegaSea' he's highlighting everyone of you who have visited or emailed your local MP, made a submission, or taken a stand against moves to undermine the things that define us as Kiwis.
You may not be pleased to hear that Minister Jones has been caught out twisting the truth. Saying in a live interview that, because we objected to the Fisheries Amendment Bill, Fisheries Officers cannot issue infringement notices for particular offences. That is simply not true.
To straighten up the narrative, we have written to the Prime Minister asking him to censure the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries. It is unacceptable that a Minister of the Crown is misrepresenting where we stand. And doing so in such a public manner. While the Prime Minister has more pressing, internal matters to deal with this week, we have asked for a meaningful response within 20 working days. The same limitation officials like to plant on us when dealing with complex fisheries proposals. Will keep you posted. |
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Aotea Great Barrier Island rock lobster management |
MPI. Click to enlarge
Fisheries New Zealand has begun public consultation on a request from Aotea/Great Barrier Local Board and the Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea Iwi Trust Board for new localised spiny and packhorse rock lobster management measures in the waters around Great Barrier Island. Have your say by Friday 4 September.
The request follows years of local collaborative monitoring and extensive community consultation, including with the island's commercial crayfisher, charter operators, local recreational fishers, and tangata whenua. It highlights two concerns: the decline in crayfish abundance at Aotea, and fishing effort being displaced onto the island from closures elsewhere.
The second concern is one we share, and one we warned officials about earlier.
In our joint recreational submission in January 2025 on Crayfish 2 (CRA 2), we warned that closing the inner Hauraki Gulf to crayfish harvesting without reviewing commercial catch settings would displace fishing effort. We named Aotea and its neighbouring islands as directly at risk. With the inner Gulf closed in April 2025 and Northland-Cape Rodney coast closed in April 2026, that displacement is now landing on Aotea.
We commend the Aotea Great Barrier Island community for stepping up. Community-led, fine-scale management built on local knowledge is place-based kaitiakitanga we have long supported. However, any changes need to be equitable and future-focused. The package of measures Aotea has requested includes: -
Cutting the individual and combined recreational daily bag limit to two spiny or packhorse rock lobster.
- A single-day accumulation limit, ending multi-day stockpiling.
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A maximum legal size for both commercial and recreational fishers, protecting large breeding crayfish.
- A seasonal closure over the mating period for both recreational and commercial fishers - 1 April to 30 June for spiny rock lobster, and 1 July to 31 October for packhorse.
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Six recreational-only fishing areas.
Each measure carries different implications for equity, sustainability, and precedent. We are still developing our position, but will work through the details and submit on each measure to make sure any new changes work toward restoring crayfish abundance. Email your submissions to FMsubmissions@mpi.govt.nz before the deadline, 5 pm on Friday, 4 September 2026. |
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July was a big month for the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council and LegaSea team as we responded to a wave of proposals from Fisheries NZ that don't prioritise fish abundance. Working to a tight 21-working-day deadline, we only had time to develop submissions for the fish stocks that matter most. Whatever catch limit changes the Minister decides in the coming months will shape the future for more than 24 fish stocks nationwide, including tarakihi, pāua and butterfish.
We pushed back hard against attempts to lock non-commercial fishing interests into a proportional share of a dysfunctional Quota Management System. Fish are a natural, public resource and must remain that way. Our submissions all carried the same underlying message - If we want restored abundance, more fish need to be left in the water to grow and breed, improving the size and availability of fish for everyone to enjoy.
See our joint submissions below: -
Tarakihi (TAR 1, 2, 3, 7 & 8) - Nationwide. Submission supported reducing commercial catch to bycatch only. In the interests of conservation, we supported a nationwide daily bag limit of 5 tarakihi per person.
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Butterfish (BUT 7) - West coast South Island and Marlborough. Submitted in support of reducing the commercial catch limit and a new daily bag limit of 7 butterfish per person. Supported a review of the current minimum legal size limit.
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Elephantfish (ELE 3 & 5) - South Island east coast and Southland. Submitted in support of reducing the commercial catch limit for both stocks to safeguard these fish stocks for future generations.
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Pāua (PAU 5D) - East coast South Island and Southland. Submitted in support of reducing commercial catch limits and rejected attempts to apply a proportional reduction to the overall recreational allowance.
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Paua 7 (PAU 7) - Marlborough. Submitted in support of reducing commercial catch limits and no changes to recreational allowance or bag limits until after the next stock assessment.
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Blue mackerel (EMA 7) - West coast North and South Island. Submission supported retaining the current commercial catch limit and on-board camera monitoring for all trawl vessels.
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Snapper and Trevally (SNA 2 & TRE 2) - East Cape to Wellington. Submission supported retaining the current commercial catch limits because of the impacts that increased fishing will have on other species.
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LegaSea Gold Partner Skipperi has recently announced a new name, a new app and a new brand. It is now called SBC (Subscription Boat Club). This change follows the acquisition of the New Zealand business from the Finnish parent company last year, and represents an exciting step forward for them as a locally owned and operated business. Apart from the new app with new features, the service and the team remains the same. They offer accessible boating subscriptions from Westhaven, Half Moon Bay and Gulf Harbour. Find out more about the change and their services from their website here. |
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A cracking deal on Kōparepare |
Our mates at Whitehaven have got a pretty special deal on Kōparepare Wine running at the moment.
Save 15% on any full case (6 or 12 bottles) until 18th August. Discount is applied automatically at checkout. Choose from:
- Any full case (6 or 12 bottles) of a single Kōparepare wine. - Any mixed case of 6 or 12 bottles across the Kōparepare range.
Every bottle makes a difference. Whitehaven donates to LegaSea with every bottle of Kōparepare Wine sold in New Zealand, helping protect our precious ocean for future generations.
Whether you're stocking up for spring or looking for the perfect Father's Day gift, now is the perfect time to save.
Shop here. |
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Pre-election oceans and fisheries debate
As we head towards a General Election, what are our political parties proposing to do to safeguard our oceans and fisheries? To hear directly from the political parties themselves, join the pre-election debate, hosted by WWF-New Zealand in Wellington this Thursday 13 August from 5.30pm. You can attend the live event at the National Library of New Zealand by getting tickets here or watch it live-streamed on the Stuff website. Representatives from National, Labour, the Greens, Act and Opportunities have agreed to attend and will be asked for their views on the best way forward for our oceans and our fisheries.
Live-stream on Stuff, 13 August from 5.30pm |
Going, going, gone…
It's been a big year for our fish. Communities around the country have lodged more than 10 applications to close local areas to harvest for some or all species. And there's been widespread public opposition to the Fisheries Amendment Bill forcing the Minister to put it on hold until after the election. Most recently, we responded to more than 12 proposals from Fisheries NZ that do not prioritise fish abundance
Fishing in Godzone, August 2026 |
Seabird deaths plummet in fleet subject to conservation rules, but rise overall
The number of seabirds caught by the surface longline fleet has fallen to its lowest level in five years, just 18 months after new conservation requirements came into effect. Across the whole sector, however, bycatch levels rose to their highest since at least 2019 in the year to March.
Marc Daalder, Newsroom, August 2026 |
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LegaSea is proudly supported by its Gold and Platinum partners: |
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