Have your say
The Ministry for Primary Industries would like your feedback on options for a proposed infringement regime to address unlawfully retained, returned, or abandoned Quota Management System Species by commercial fishers.
Consultation opens 16 November and ends 15 December 2022.
Consultation document
Discussion paper – Infringement regulations for retention and discarding offences in the commercial fishing industry [PDF, 594 KB]
Related information
Consultation on regulations to support the implementation of the Fisheries Amendment Act 2022 – Cabinet paper [PDF, 671 KB]
Consultation on new Fisheries Regulations – Fact sheet [PDF, 865 KB]
Fisheries Amendment Bill – NZ Parliament
Consultation background – Fisheries Amendment Act 2022
Introduction of an infringement regime for low-level offending was first proposed during public consultation for "Your fisheries – your say" in 2019, resulting in feedback on what this might look like.
Consultation: Your fisheries – your say
The Fisheries Amendment Act (the Amendment Act) has recently passed into law.
The Amendment Act contains changes to the offences and penalties provisions in the primary Act. These enable the making of regulations for an infringement regime to address low-level illegal retention or return of quota species by commercial fishers. This type of offending can currently only be addressed by prosecution.
A new, separate, set of regulations on what can be done with QMS species brought back to land are also being consulted on at the same time in the discussion paper, Regulations for alternative methods of disposal for landed fish in the commercial fishing industry. These regulations are complementary to the regulations being consulted on here and, for this reason, are undergoing a separate regulatory impact assessment process.
Making your submission
Send us your feedback by 5pm on 15 December 2022.
Email your completed form to FisheriesChangeProgramme@mpi.govt.nz
While we prefer email to ensure we receive your submission on time, you can post your response to:
Fisheries policy team
Policy and trade branch
Ministry for Primary Industries
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140
Please include the following information:
- your name and title
- your phone number, address, and email
- your organisation’s name (if you are submitting on behalf of an organisation).
Submissions are public information
Note that all, part, or a summary of your submission may be published on this website. Most often this happens when we issue a document that reviews the submissions received.
People can also ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the content of submissions available unless we have good reason for withholding it. Those reasons are detailed in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA.
If you think there are grounds to withhold specific information from publication, make this clear in your submission or contact us. Reasons may include that it discloses commercially sensitive or personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold details can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.
