For decades, fishing in New Zealand has followed a familiar pattern. Bag limits, seasonal closures, a few protected species—most anglers know the rules by heart. But what if, in just a few years, those rules looked completely different?
Around the world, conversations about how we fish are shifting. And while no official changes have been announced here, experts say some of these ideas already being tested overseas could eventually reach our waters.
Entire Regions Could Become Catch-and-Release
In many areas today, releasing your catch is optional unless it’s a protected species. But in the future, entire coastal or freshwater zones could be designated permanent catch-and-release areas. Recreational and commercial fishing would be off-limits for harvest, with the goal of letting fish stocks fully recover.
Licences That Change in Real Time
Right now, fishing licences are fixed annually. A new approach could see bag limits and quotas updated month-by-month using live data from environmental monitoring. The fish you’re allowed to catch today might not be the same as next month.
From Bag Limits to “Fish Credits”
Instead of a set daily limit, anglers could buy a pool of catch credits. A rare or highly valued species would “cost” more credits than a smaller, more common one—forcing people to think carefully about every fish they take.
How Things Could Change
| Current Rules | Possible Future Rules |
|---|---|
| Annual licence fees with fixed limits | Dynamic limits updated in real time |
| Bag limits by species and number | Credit-based system where each catch has a different value |
| Gear restrictions applied broadly | Gear rules tailored to specific rivers, bays, or coastlines |
| Access most days of the year | Limited access tied to tides, moon phases, or breeding cycles |
Why These Changes Are Being Discussed
Supporters say it’s about protecting marine ecosystems from overfishing, climate change, and habitat loss. Technology now makes it possible to manage stocks with precision, something that wasn’t possible even ten years ago.
“It’s about keeping our fishing traditions alive by making them sustainable,” one fisheries adviser explained.
For now, these ideas remain just that—ideas. But if they ever become law, the way New Zealanders fish, from the Far North to Stewart Island, could change forever.
That’s why luxon and his rednecks want to erode te tiriti ,and to rape / steal crown and maori land (resources) ..
Here we go again mother fuckers money grabbing again buy credits fuckwits and they contradict themselves again bout cost of living C##/$.
It’s not the people fishing off the coast that’s the problem. It’s the commercial fishing. Commercial fisherman are allowed to catch fish under the size limit of casual fisherman. I’ve seen fish in pak n save and countdown half the size of the actual size limit for the regular person. For example snapper are supposed to be 30cm or more where I’ve walked into pak n save and had a look at the snapper in the ice box and held my hand up to it. It was the size of my hand which is about 15cm.
Don’t blame the people for overfishing, it’s the commercial fishing that isn’t allowing the fish to recover. If commercial fisherman had stricter rules and coatguards checking their sizes ever time they head back in there wouldn’t be as many problems.
Don’t blame the commercial guys either, the rules state that you must land a snapper 25 cm long, yes tiny, but that’s the governments rules.
It won’t happen. I work in the commercial fishing industry, but also value the opportunity to go out and catch a meal, free of charge without any limits except for compliance rules around season, size and amount. The NZ recreational fishing community will never agree to have to pay to catch a meal, and certainly not while they perceive commercial fishing to have free reign ( they don’t btw). Any govt that introduced legislation to make NZers pay to fish won’t be govt for long, and any opposition that fails to guarantee to repeal such a law, won’t get elected. Global fishing regulations and pressures are different to those in NZ, and our fisheries are generally managed. Where they aren’t is often a result of poaching, and no new rules are going to prevent that.
Trash article.
Just another way to CONTROL the PEOPLE
Another system feeding a bunch of paper shuffling burocrats that take the common man’s money and feed their faces.And if to think big overseas companies won’t raut the system your dreaming. NZ already has a quota and catch limit system that works well. This is socialist outreach.
A lot of the fisheries systems over the years have led to the commercialization of the industry with money being the main obvious objective. Slowly but surely we the public have been restricted to smaller and smaller catch limits. And all at a greater cost. We are now in a situation where, thanks to our countries reputation, our products are in high demand across the world. As a result, the cost of certain products, including seafood, are astronomical.
Our government along with top fishing companies have benefited from this multi-billion dollar industry for many many years and continue to do so.
How can this system be changed to suit both public and government? All we the public really want is the ability to retain the right to go out and get our family a feed. All the government seems to want is money. The idea of basically charging to public to go out and fish before they even do so sounds absolutely ridiculous.
From my personal perspective the government isn’t doing things with the publics best interests in mind. If they were we wouldn’t be charged such ridiculous prices for our own seafood in our own supermarkets. It’s crazy. Pac and save one day I saw a smoked fish head for $8.00. Just the head, and it wasn’t even a big one. A tiny container of kina costs almost $40.00. We used to have kina on a regular basis but I can’t even remember the last time I had any. Because I don’t dive or anything like that I’m forced to pay an exorbitant amount if I do want some. So to me the high price is prohibitive. The industry is government regulated and they have designed it to make as much money as they possibly can for themselves and their commercial partners. How can this new system possibly address the problems that already exist as far as access to New Zealand seafood at a reasonable price is concerned? We in New Zealand pay high prices for New Zealand seafood simply because our seafood commands a higher price overseas. This is where the unfairness stems from. Schnapper has become almost unaffordable for most families thanks to a price tag of over $50.00 per kilo. I can’t help but notice that this new set of rules, even though they are based on overseas actions, seek to further restrict the publics access to seafood by decreasing the amounts of certain types of fish etc each fisherman can legally catch as well as increasing the cost to each fisherman who wishes to do so. Basing it on preserving the industry or certain types of seafood for the future is all well and good, but what about the disparity between the needs of the people and the government, in cahoots with industry giants, and their continued ability to reep in unbelievable amounts of profits while the public suffer by having to pay high prices or simply go without? Any new system overhaul should invariably take into consideration the unfairness of the high prices we have to pay for our own seafood. Unfortunately this problem isn’t something our government seems interested in. They seem focused on finding any excuse to charge for anything they possibly can under the pretense of trying to protect the very industry they are seeking to earn major returns from.
The limits needs to be reduced – 4 guys recreational fishing on a boat can bring home 80 fish – that’s insane. What’s wrong with 10 each?
Nets need to be banned as do long lines. They are not sustainable.
As for fees, an annual license of $15 would be acceptable. British Columbia has a similar fee.
its about time they start charging for ocean fishing, its ridiculous that you have to buy a license for exotic pest species (trout)
I won’t buy fish in store – period. No interest in supporting commercial plundering of the sea.
If they take from us again like we had 10 paua now only 5 now.!!! If they want to take more from us let’s be consistent and take half from the commercial Fisherman also.!!!! This is just a big GRAB UP END OF.!!! And us amateur fishos will get hit again?? Not the commercial lot.!!!! Watch and see….
The Marlborough sounds blue cod collapse had little to do with recreational fishing and everything to do with commercial cod potting.Now the Wairarapa coast is getting the same unwanted destructive attention!The southeast coast has always been an excellent blue cod fishery due to the fact that it can’t be trawled because of the rough ground,making it a natural nursery,commercial potting will destroy it,let’s assign blame where it’s due mr Shane Jones! Blue cod fillets at over$50 a kg? There’s your target for fees right there!!!