Shane Jones will fine The Daily Blog $50,000?!?

A controversial new Fisheries Amendment Bill pushed by Shane Jones could criminalise the publication of fishing boat footage — raising serious questions about transparency, media freedom and environmental accountability in New Zealand.

What the Fisheries Amendment Bill actually does

The Fisheries Amendment Bill that is being rammed through Parliament with very little attention is a travesty that protects the exploiters, not the ocean or fisheries!

Shane Jones is a well known pimp for this industry and the Fisheries Amendment Bill has been written for them, not us!

The attention to date has been on the u-turn to stop Corporate Fishing from selling undersized catch, but the Bill goes way further than that!

It incentivises the worst types of fishing – unselective bottom trawling!

It limits public consultation on fisheries decisions!

Why Shane Jones’ bill threatens transparency

It blocks public access to the footage from cameras on boats!

$50,000 fines for publishing footage — what this means

And Anyone who publishes footage of wrong doing by the fishing industry will face a fine of $50,000!

A direct challenge to media freedom in New Zealand

WAIT. WHAT?

Let me see if I can get this completely straight.

If someone sends The Daily Blog footage taken from a camera on a fishing boat showing illegality and if The Daily Blog publishes that footage – Shane Jones is going to take us to court and fine us $50,000?!?

The Daily Blog response: we will fight this in Court

Well, giddy up Shane, we’re going to court, son!

There is no way The Daily Blog won’t post footage taken from cameras on boats if it shows illegality and TDB will go all the way through their Court process to fight that.

It is absolutely in the public interest to know if commercial fishing interests are breaking the law or destroying the environment!

We will not be cowered by Shane bloody Jones threatening us with a $50,000 fine!

This is a free speech issue ffs!

If the footage shows illegality or environmental vandalism, of course we should see that footage and publicise it.

Blocking that footage from the public and then threatening media with a $50,000 fine is fascism.

As Editor of The Daily Blog, we won’t cower to fascism.

I don’t care how much money the Fishing Industry gives Shane Jones, we will publish that material the millisecond this becomes law.

I’ll see you in court, Shane!

If this law passes, it won’t just be about fisheries — it will be about whether the public has the right to see what is really happening at sea. And if that truth is worth $50,000 in fines, then so be it.