Source: New Zealand Government
Common sense new rules allowing certain species of live fish to be legally returned to the sea will reduce unnecessary red tape and support sustainability, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says.
Under the Quota Management System most fish caught by commercial fishers must be kept and taken to shore unless there is an exception in place.
The new rules exempt southern bluefin tuna, legal-sized pāua and Bluff oysters from this requirement as long as they are alive and likely to survive being returned to sea.
“Returning these species to their fisheries in circumstances when they are likely to survive benefits the sustainability of fish stocks as returned fish will remain part of the spawning population,” Mr Jones says.
“Commercial fishers have been allowed to return southern bluefin tuna since 2004 but these new rules set out the conditions in which they are likely to survive.
Under the new exception, commercial fishers can return southern bluefin tuna only if it has been caught by surface longline or troll, is confirmed to be alive, without major injury, and is returned to the sea as soon as possible.
“Commercial pāua fishers have put in place voluntary minimum harvest sizes, which are larger than the minimum legal size. These voluntary measures from industry support sustainability of pāua fisheries by maintaining a larger amount of spawning pāua in the fishery,” Mr Jones says.
“The exception will allow commercial pāua fishers to return pāua that are larger than the legal size, but smaller than the voluntary harvest size, which supports efforts to look after the fisheries they depend on.”
The change allowing oysters to be returned to the sea is a practical response to how they grow, Mr Jones says.
“Oysters grow in clumps, which can include both legal and undersized oysters. Without the exception, undersized oysters must be removed from the legal-sized ones and returned to the sea.
The exception requires legal-sized oysters, if attached to such a clump, to be returned to the water quickly as possible as well.
“Bluff oysters need to be returned to the sea quickly for them to have the best chance of surviving, so the handling time needed to separate the undersized oysters hurts their chances of surviving to grow and spawn more oysters.”
“My thanks to everyone who provided feedback as part of the consultation on these changes,” Mr Jones says.
The commercial landing exceptions come into force on 1 May 2025.
