Commercial fishers landing exception for legal-size Bluff oysters

Consultation background

Under the Fisheries Act 1996, commercial fishers are prohibited from returning or abandoning to the sea or other waters, any fish or shellfish that are subject to the Quota Management System (QMS). However, the Act allows for exceptions to the rule.

See section 72A(2) of the Fisheries Act 1996 – NZ Legislation

Fisheries New Zealand is assessing whether a commercial landing exception should be provided for dredge oysters taken from Foveaux Strait (OYU5, Bluff oysters) that are above the minimum legal size. This would allow commercial fishers to return legal-size Bluff oysters to the sea based on an acceptable likelihood of survival.

Have your say

Based on physiological characteristics, such as their ability to survive prolonged air exposure, best available information indicates that, when handled appropriately, post-release survival of commercially caught dredge oysters is high. This is supported by international research.

All other dredge oyster stocks have a commercial landing exception allowing commercial fishers to return legal-size dredge oysters to the sea.

For these reasons, Fisheries New Zealand is proposing an exception to allow commercial fishers to return Bluff oysters that are above the minimum legal size to the sea.

We’d like your feedback on this proposal. Consultation is open from 15 January to 12 February 2025.

Consultation document

Commercial landing exception: Foveaux Strait (Bluff) oysters [PDF, 480 KB]

Making your submission

Email your feedback by 5pm on 12 February 2025 to FMSubmissions@mpi.govt.nz

A template is available to help you complete your submission. It includes questions you may like to answer to help you with your submission and further space for any other feedback.

Submissions template [DOCX, 85 KB]

While we prefer email, you can post written submissions to:

Fisheries Management – National Direction
Fisheries New Zealand
Ministry for Primary Industries
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140.

What to include

Make sure you tell us in your submission:

your name and title
your organisation's name (if you are submitting on behalf of an organisation)
your contact details (such as phone number, address, and email).

Submissions are public information

Note that all, part, or a summary of your submission may be published on this website. Most often this happens when we issue a document that reviews the submissions received.

People can also ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the content of submissions available unless we have good reason for withholding it. Those reasons are detailed in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA.

If you think there are grounds to withhold specific information from publication, make this clear in your submission or contact us. Reasons may include that it discloses commercially sensitive or personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold details can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.

Official Information Act 1982 – NZ Legislation

Commercial fishers landing exception for legal-size Bluff oysters

Closing date

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