Have Your Say On The Changes To The Fisheries Act

The Primary Production Committee is calling for submissions on the Fisheries Amendment Bill.

The bill would amend the Fisheries Act 1996 and seeks to grow the value of seafood sector exports while continuing to ensure sustainability. The key changes include:

Electronic monitoring and reporting

• Introducing electronic monitoring in commercial fisheries, including nearrealtime catch and position reporting by fishers.
• Providing for the verification of reported data through the use of onboard cameras.

Use and protection of onboard camera footage

• Exempting onboard camera footage from requests under the Official Information Act 1982.
• Establishing specific disclosure provisions that allow the Ministry for Primary Industries to share footage in limited, prescribed circumstances.

Landing and discard rule changes

• Allowing commercial fishers to return quota management system (QMS) species to the sea when fishing activities are monitored by an onboard camera or an observer.
• Making additional amendments to support the effective operation and enforcement of landing and discard rules.

Catch size requirements for commercial fishing

• Removing minimum commercial fish size limits from the regulations for specified species.

Changes to deemed value settings

• Introducing new rules that allow specific deemed value rates to be set for inshore stocks when caught by deepwater freezer vessels.

At this stage the committee intends to hold oral submissions on the 7th and 14th May 2026.

Tell the Primary Production Committee what you think

Make a submission on the bill by 11.59 pm on 29 April 2026.

For more details about the bill:

• Read the full content of the bill
• Get more details about the bill
• What’s been said in Parliament about the bill?

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