What is the Fisheries Amendment Bill in New Zealand?

It is proposed legislation that changes fisheries management, including rules around monitoring, catch limits, and fishing practices such as bottom trawling.

Why is the bill controversial?

Critics say it reduces transparency by limiting access to onboard camera footage and allows environmentally damaging practices like bottom trawling to continue.

What is bottom trawling and why is it criticised?

Bottom trawling is a fishing method that drags nets across the seabed, damaging habitats and killing non-target species such as dolphins and seabirds.

How could this affect the 2026 election?

Ocean protection and environmental issues are increasingly important to voters, and decisions like this could influence how people vote.

Empty promises from National-led government as ‘ocean exploitation bill’ voted through – Greenpeace

More than 100,000 people opposed it. Warnings about ocean damage were clear. And still, the Government pushed it through. The Fisheries Amendment Bill isn’t just another piece of legislation — it’s shaping up to be a defining fight over who the ocean belongs to: the public, or the fishing industry.

Greenpeace is slamming the decision by the coalition government today to vote through the Fisheries Amendment Bill, in the wake of mass public outcry against the legislation.

What this bill actually does (and why people are furious)

The controversial Fisheries Amendment Bill, which blocks public access to cameras on boats footage and incentivises the most destructive form of fishing, bottom trawling, passed its first reading in parliament today. It will go to Select Committee later this year.

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Greenpeace Aotearoa oceans lead Ellie Hooper says the coalition has ignored the tens of thousands of New Zealanders who said the bill should be rejected.

“This bill is a dumpster fire — and they voted it through anyway. While opposition parties voted against the Bill, the coalition of National, ACT and NZ First have voted it through – ignoring the New Zealanders they’ve all claimed to have listened to this past week. Listening clearly wasn’t the same as acting. Clearly, the statements these politicians made on the Bill were just hot air.”

Greenpeace says New Zealanders have made their feelings about the bill, and the destructive fishing practices it will further enable, abundantly clear.

“We need political parties to step up and do what New Zealanders are overwhelmingly calling for – commitments to restrictions on destructive bottom trawling to protect the ocean and ensure abundance for the future,” says Hooper.

“People are wise to the fact that anything less is not going to address the real problems we have with commercial fishing in this country.

This is heading straight into the election

“Fisheries and ocean health are key election issues. Politicians must take note and commit to banning bottom trawling from where it does the most harm – starting with seamounts and features, and in the embattled Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.”

Every year New Zealand trawlers rip up tonnes of coral, wiping out essential ocean habitats and also kill dolphins, fur seals and seabirds in trawl nets as ‘bycatch’ collateral.

“The cost of this destructive fishing method is too high – and voters know it,” says Hooper.

The Fisheries Amendment Bill reading follows public outrage that forced Minister Shane Jones to do a u-turn on part of the bill that would have allowed commercial fishers to land and sell undersized fish.

But environmentalists and recreational fishers alike assert too many problematic aspects of the bill remain. These include provisions which would block public access to cameras on boats footage, introducing a fine of up to $50,000 for anyone leaking the footage.

Groups also objected to catch limits moving to five year reviews instead of annually, more limited public consultation, and restrictions on the ability for legal challenges to be launched on fisheries decisions.

Hooper says that while New Zealanders will continue to oppose the bill through to the Select Committee stage – political parties need to recognise and act on the calls for real change with urgency.

“New Zealanders from across the political spectrum, and from many different walks of life care deeply about the ocean and want to cast their vote for politicians who will actually make meaningful changes to protect it.
“Prioritising abundant, healthy oceans is within political leaders’ control. It’s beyond time they acted with ocean health in mind, not commercial fishing short-term profits.”

Over 100,000 people have signed petitions calling for end to bottom trawling on seamounts. Polling data shows that 84% of people living around the Hauraki Gulf, also want trawling banned in the Marine Park.