ACT is proposing a separate fisheries management area for the Hauraki Gulf, a nationwide recreational shellfish bag limit, an end to scallop dredging in closed North Island fisheries, changes to fishing levies and higher infringement fees.
The six-point policy has been announced by ACT Conservation spokesperson Cameron Luxton.
ACT wants the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park boundaries to become a distinct fisheries management area.
The party says fish stocks in the Gulf can currently be managed as part of much larger fisheries areas, potentially masking local depletion. Its proposal would allow local catch settings to be changed to rebuild depleted stocks while preserving existing quota holders’ proportional property rights.
ACT is also proposing a combined recreational daily bag limit of 10 for shellfish and other covered marine species that do not already have an individual daily limit.
The party says the limit would target people taking large quantities from an area while allowing recreational gathering for personal use.
ACT would also permanently end scallop dredging in currently closed North Island scallop fisheries.
If stocks recover, selective harvesting technologies could be used instead.
“Scallop dredging is the most destructive harvesting method available in New Zealand,” Luxton says.
“If scallop populations eventually recover, there is no reason to automatically return to dragging dredges across the ocean floor when more selective harvesting methods are available or can be developed.”
Under the policy, Fisheries New Zealand would be required to quantify the economic and environmental costs of high-impact fishing methods.
ACT says existing fisheries levies should then be adjusted to reflect those costs, without increasing the total amount collected.
The party says lower-impact methods can catch the same fish while causing less damage than bottom trawling and dredging.
ACT also wants fisheries infringement fees increased and staggered according to the seriousness of an offence.
The party says current penalties do not provide a sufficient deterrent for serious offending.
The final proposal would change the way important fisheries are managed, with higher fish stocks and greater abundance becoming the objective rather than maximum sustainable yield.
“New Zealand’s fisheries should aim for more than having just enough fish in the water to sustain the maximum possible catch,” Luxton says.
“This change reinforces that catching fish is normal, scarcity is not.”
Luxton says the policy is intended to increase fish stocks while retaining access for commercial and recreational fishers.
“We live in a bloody paradise and we need to look after it,” he says.
“ACT will unlock the potential of our fisheries so our oceans support more fish, more opportunity and better fishing for generations to come.”
