Proposed fishing regulations outlined
THE Government tested the waters for proposed commercial fishing regulations with a Dunedin crowd this week.
About 35 people gathered in an Edgar Centre meeting room to hear Fisheries NZ staff float new rules.
One of the proposed changes is to amend regulations governing which fish must be brought back to port and which can be returned to the sea.
Fisheries NZ spokesman Andy Hill said the present rules were inconsistent.
Some caught fish under legal limits were able to be returned if they were ‘‘likely to survive’’.
This was ‘‘incredibly subjective’’, he said.
The preferred staff option was to remove all minimum legal sizes for finfish.
The aim was to tighten restrictions on which fish could be thrown back into the sea.
This would incentivise fishers to be ‘‘smarter’’ and adopt practices to minimise the catch of small or unwanted fish.
Another key change in the consultation is to introduce a larger range of penalties for offences.
At present there are only significant penalties for offences.
Staff wanted to introduce ‘‘infringement offences’’ for lowerlevel rule breaking.
This meant lowerlevel offenders would be fined rather than receive a criminal record.
Overall, the changes were to ensure ‘‘abundant and sustainable’’ fisheries in the future.