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Proposed amendments to reporting requirements for commercial fishers when they catch non-fish or protected species

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Fisheries New Zealand is proposing amendments to technical circulars under the Fisheries (Reporting) Regulations 2017. The circulars cover the electronic reporting and codes available for reporting of non-fish and protected species interactions.

The proposed changes are to provide more detailed fisher reporting of interactions with non-fish and protected species. The current guidance and understanding around reporting obligations is narrower than what is specified under the Wildlife Act 1953 and the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978. These proposed changes will help fishers meet their reporting obligations.

We're seeking feedback from tangata whenua and stakeholders on the proposed amendments. 

A summary of the proposed options is on this page and full details are in the consultation document.

You can make submissions between 1 September and 29 September 2023.

Consultation document

Proposed amendments to non-fish and protected species reporting requirements [PDF, 323 KB]

Related information

Fisheries (Reporting) Regulations 2017

Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978

Wildlife Act 1953

Fisheries Act 1996

Digital monitoring resources

Summary of the proposed options

The changes include:

  • amend the definition of “catch” to cover instances involving accidental or incidental injury or death where the marine wildlife has been able to move freely or free itself if caught
  • introduce new codes to the Codes Circular to collect more accurate information on NFPS interactions
  • make the notes field for NFPS reports mandatory where a NFPS interaction is reported to provide more detailed information on the conditions and circumstances of the event in line with the Wildlife Act and MMPA, and provide guidance on how to fill this out.

Making your submission

Fisheries New Zealand welcomes written submissions on any or all of the proposals contained in this discussion document. All written submissions must be received by Fisheries New Zealand no later than 5pm on Friday, 29 September 2023.

To help you provide feedback, we encourage you to use the submission template [DOCX, 80 KB]

Submissions can be emailed to FMsubmissions@mpi.govt.nz

Alternatively, the postal address is:

Protected Species Reporting Consultation 2023
Science and Information
Fisheries New Zealand
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6011.

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.

Official Information Act 1982 – NZ Legislation

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