The Fisheries Amendment Bill is open for submissions until 29 April 2026. This Bill proposes many changes to the Fisheries Act 1996 including how decisions are made about the amount of fish that can be caught commercial fisheries and how these decisions can be challenged, the rules around what fishers can do with fish they catch, and how fishing activities are monitored at sea.

SPCA is concerned with many of the changes proposed in the Bill, especially with how fishing activities are monitored at sea. After trialling cameras on board in 2019, the installation of on-board cameras for 300 inshore commercial vessels using “in scope” fishing methods began in August 2023. On-board camera footage is sent to the Ministry for Primary Industries for review. Many measures are in place to protect the privacy of fishers, including how the footage is encrypted and stored, and who has access.

The Bill will exempt on-board camera footage from requests under the Official Information Act. We are concerned this will reduce the transparency and accountability for what happens to animals at sea.

Commercial fishers must report the number and types of animals that are captured or interact with their vessel or fishing gear. On-board cameras record what happens on a fishing vessel and verify what fishers report happens at sea. This includes how much fish is captured and what happens to fish that a commercial fisher does not want to keep and sell. On-board cameras verify the number and types of seabirds, turtles, and marine mammals that are injured or killed because they collide with boats or fishing gear or are unintentionally captured in nets or on hooks.

Unintentional capturing of sharks and other fish, seabirds, turtles, and marine mammals is not an offense under the law. Fishers are required to ensure they do not cause unnecessary harm to animals that are captured and then released alive. Ensuring these incidents are accurately reported helps us understand the extent that commercial fishing impacts animals, especially where there is significant welfare harm and where commercial fishing activities are the main threat to the survival of a species.

On-board cameras provide an incentive for fishers to avoid catching animals they do not want and minimising the harm to animals that are captured and returned to sea. SPCA advocates for 100% of the commercial fishing fleet to have on-board cameras to help ensure animals captured, injured, or killed at sea are accurately reported and fishers are held accountable for unnecessary harm they cause to animals.

We are preparing a submission to let the Primary Production Select Committee know that we do not support the Fisheries Amendment Bill because it erodes transparency and accountability in protecting animals that are harmed from the commercial fishing industry.