Big thanks to everyone who got involved in the marlin issue. Your submissions, messages, emails, and pressure in the right places – it all helped, and it shows that our collective voice is important.
Shane Jones has pulled the proposal to allow the commercial sale of marlin bycatch. It’s a decent reminder that engaging in these processes is so worthwhile. When enough people speak up, it gets very hard for the government to carry on like everything’s fine, and no one’s watching. Shout-out to One Ocean Project for highlighting the issue with their protest, doing exactly what Kiwis should be doing – making noise.
We have to give credit where credit is due; Shane Jones has listened and changed course. It shows that opinions matter, votes matter, and the democratic process still has bite. Keeping marlin out of the commercial system is the right call, and we’ll take it as the first win of 2026.
But this isn’t the end of the story.
There are still 19 reef species lined up for rule changes in waters around the upper North Island (Fisheries Management Areas 1 and 9). Right now, these species can’t be taken commercially within these areas, but the proposal is to change the rules so they can be landed if caught as bycatch by Danish seine, bottom longline and trawl. The justification is that more of these fish are being caught as bycatch, and instead of dealing with why that’s happening, the go-to solution for Fisheries NZ appears to be making it legal, rather than adjusting how we fish.
We’ve seen this play out before. A few small rule changes here, a bit more access there, and by the time the impacts show up in the water, everything’s already locked in. That’s why it’s so important you all stay engaged and speak up when required.
We’ll chalk up the marlin decision as a win, thank everyone who helped get it there, and then turn our attention to what’s next. Because the next set of decisions matters just as much, and once again, the outcome depends on people staying switched on, vocal and involved.
