Controversial fisheries reforms abandoned, minister cites ‘disharmony’ in Parliament

Author: Adam Pearse,
Publish Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2026, 12:55pm

Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones speaking at a select committee. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Controversial fisheries reform led by New Zealand First minister Shane Jones is being abandoned.

Jones, appearing before a select committee in his role as Oceans and Fisheries Minister, told MPs his “much-beloved bill could use some more panel-beating” and as such, would not be progressed in this term of government.

The Fisheries Amendment Bill had caused division within the coalition, particularly with National which faced a backlash from recreational fishers over changes to minimum legal-size limits for commercial fishing operators.

Jones was forced to drop that clause in March amid the opposition. Both NZ First leader Winston Peters and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had intervened on the issue.

Other controversial changes in the bill include plans to block the public from obtaining footage of fish dumping under the Official Information Act.

Jones said today that it was clear there was a “tremendous amount of whitewash” around the bill and encouraged the committee to extend its deadline for when it was set to report to the House on the bill.

He said it was evident there was a “lot of disharmony” within the industry about the bill, “despite my desire to charge on ahead”.

Jones acknowledged there was also not a lot of harmony across Parliament on the bill.

“If it can be improved with some more panel-beating, I’m up for that.”

Jones said fishing reform was a “highly contested space” and noted the upcoming election could provide a forum for political parties to campaign on their desired reforms.

More to come ...

Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.