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Proposed bylaws for 9 mātaitai on the west coast of the South Island

Update – 2 October 2026

Minister's decisions

In 2025, the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries approved bylaws for the 9 Makaawhio mātaitai reserves.

The bylaws came into effect on 1 October 2025 and include restrictions on harvesting of shellfish, seaweed, and finfish from within the reserves.

Check the Challenger area fishing rules

Fisheries (Makaawhio Mātaitai Reserves Bylaws) Notice 2025 (Notice No. MPI 1944) – NZ Gazette  

The advice paper supporting these decisions will be released shortly when publicly available.

Consultation background

Makaawhio Tangata Tiaki/Kaitiaki proposed bylaws to maintain and improve sustainability and increase fish stocks within 9 West Coast mātaitai reserves.

This included changes to the recreational fishing rules for a number of fish, shellfish, and seaweed species within these mātaitai.

Submissions closed on 31 January 2025.  

What was proposed?

The 9 mātaitai were:

The proposed bylaws were different for each mātaitai but generally would:

  • prohibit taking seaweed except karengo and wakame (Undaria)
  • prohibit taking of some shellfish species
  • reduce daily limits for some fish and shellfish species
  • reduce combined daily finfish bag limits in some mātaitai
  • implement a maximum tail width for spiny rock lobster of 70 mm in some mātaitai
  • implement a maximum daily limit per vessel for spiny rock lobster, pāua, blue cod, and combined finfish bag limits for some mātaitai.

Consultation document

Makaawhio Mātaitai Reserves proposed draft bylaws [PDF, 272 KB]

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