Freshwater Recreational Fishing

UnitedFuture recognises that New Zealand has a freshwater fishery that is one of the best in the world. The fishery is currently well managed by Fish and Game’s network of regional structures.Given the high quality of New Zealand’s freshwater fishery and its management structure, we are primarily concerned with two issues: 1) safeguarding public access and 2) water quality.

1). Access to New Zealand’s freshwater fishery is a basic right that should be accorded to every New Zealander. The exclusion of the average New Zealander from specific waterways through the denial of access, especially by way of “exclusive capture”, is unacceptable but is a phenomenon that is on the rise. See our “Public Access” policy section for further details of how we intend to address this issue.

2). The quality of New Zealand’s inland waterways has been generally deteriorating as time passes. In some specific areas, public health and the recreational usage of these bodies of water is in jeopardy. This deterioration needs to be addressed quickly through the introduction of appropriate educational tools and the raising of awareness within the industries associated with causing this problem. Such a program could include financial assistance to accelerate reforms within certain industries and be reinforced by regulatory intervention such as the establishment of a National Environmental Standard for inland lakes and waterways.

 It is UnitedFuture policy to:

• Close the loopholes within our public access law that allow situations of ‘exclusive capture’ to arise and actively go after landowners who continue to sell exclusive access rights to our public resources.
• Imposing a moratorium on new hydro and irrigation schemes for rivers without existing dams and still regarded to be ‘wild’.
• Ensure that the commercialisation of trout species and other freshwater species will remain illegal in order to preserve our freshwater fisheries for recreation and tourism;
• Promote the principle that all New Zealanders have a common right to access unpolluted freshwater fisheries and waterways for recreational use.
• Implement a National Environmental Standard (NES) for the quality of New Zealand’s freshwater lakes and waterways;
• Ensure that a program to improve water quality is developed and implemented through consultation with all stakeholders.
• Make it easier for recreational fishers to access information pertaining to their daily catch limit and the penalties for non-compliance through more numerous and comprehensive information boards at boat ramps and popular on-shore fishing spots.
• Provide targeted funding for research into didymo in the New Zealand river ecosystem with the intention of exterminating it from our rivers;
• Develop a rapid response unit within Biosecurity New Zealand to respond to future reported potential threats similar to didymo with the mandate to immediately ‘close’ a waterway from public use;