Fisheries Amendment Act 2022

The Amendment Act changed certain fishing rules and policies

The Fisheries Amendment Act 2022 aims to encourage better fishing practices, and modernise and strengthen New Zealand’s fisheries management system.

Many aspects of the Amendment Act are given effect through regulations and other instruments, such as fisheries notices, some of which are being implemented over several years.

Fisheries notices

Fisheries Amendment Act 2022 – NZ Legislation

Refining the rules for landings and discards

The Amendment Act clarified the settings of what commercial catch can (or must) be discarded or landed and the following rules:

• all commercial catch must be reported, whether they are Quota Management System (QMS) species or not
• QMS stocks or species, live or dead, must be landed unless an exception has been issued
• QMS stocks or species that may be returned to the sea that are dead or unlikely to survive must be accounted for, within the fisheries management system – that is, through Annual Catch Entitlements (ACE) or deemed values, or other allowances.

The Minister for Oceans and Fisheries may provide an exception for a QMS species or stock to be returned or abandoned to the sea if they are satisfied that:

• the stock or species has an acceptable likelihood of survival when returned to the sea or other waters, or
• retaining the stock or species would damage other stocks or species taken by the commercial fisher (for example, an ammoniating species), or is damaged because of unavoidable circumstances (for example, diseased or predated fish), or
• the stocks or species must be returned or abandoned to the sea for a biological, fisheries management, or ecosystem purpose, and the stock or species has an acceptable likelihood of survival when returned.

Implementation period

The Amendment Act requires some landing exceptions (for QMS species or stocks that may or must be returned to the sea) to be reviewed considering the reasons above. The exceptions need to be reviewed by 30 September 2026, or they will otherwise expire. However, this date is proposed to be extended to 30 September 2028.

As each review is undertaken, the minister will consider whether an exception should remain in place, be amended, or removed. Any exceptions deemed to meet one of the above reasons will be included in the Fisheries (Landing and Discard Exceptions) Notice.

Find fisheries notices

Find out more about how the Act will be implemented

New rules for offences and penalties

The Amendment Act introduced a new graduated system for offences and penalties for breaches of the landing and discard rules. It enabled the creation of:

• an infringement system for low-level offences
• a demerit point system for repeat offences.

The goal of these systems is to encourage compliant fishing behaviours. These new systems will allow for commercial fishers to be penalised more proportionately to their offending.

Find out more about new infringement regulations

Enabling the further use of on-board cameras

The Amendment Act enabled the further use of on-board cameras to observe fishing activities that occur once fish are brought onboard, including sorting, processing, and discarding.

Find out more about on-board cameras

New defence to improve outcomes for marine mammals and protected sharks and rays

The Amendment Act created a new defence that allows fishers to abandon or return fish to the sea to save a marine mammal or protected shark and ray species. For example, under this defence, fishers that release QMS fish to safeguard a pod of dolphins, as happened in 2017, will no longer be liable for prosecution. It also encourages the use of innovative fishing equipment that can safely release fish and protected species underwater.

More responsive decision-making for recreational fishing

The Amendment Act included a change to recreational fishing management controls to better support more responsive decision-making.

Changing recreational fishing controls like bag limits and minimum legal sizes can take up to 2 years. The Amendment Act is speeding up the process. It allows certain recreational controls to be set or varied by a notice issued by the minister, rather than through the full regulation process. This will make setting recreational controls faster and more consistent with the setting of commercial controls.

Find out more

Fisheries Amendment Act FAQs [PDF, 228 KB]

Fisheries Change Programme

Email us if you have questions

FisheriesChangeProgramme@mpi.govt.nz