National will campaign on further restricting the limited amount of commercial fishing currently permissible in the Hauraki Gulf, says National’s Conservation spokesperson Tama Potaka.
The Hauraki Gulf, covering 800 square kms, surrounds New Zealand’s biggest city and in 2025, the coalition Government created 12 High Protection Areas (HPA) and five sea floor protection areas.
“The coalition decision in 2025 to allow commercial fishing in two of those 12 HPAs in the Gulf has caused widespread concern from the hundreds of thousands of users of Auckland’s key recreational waterway,” Mr Potaka says.
“National will look to reinstate the ban on all fishing in the High Protection Areas. A further decision, to allow bottom trawling in some designated trawl corridors in the Gulf has also been controversial so we will review that also.
“We believe a consistent approach to protection of the Gulf is needed. We need to strike the right balance for future use of the Hauraki Gulf and other waters around New Zealand for those who fish, dive, swim, or collect kaimoana recreationally, as well as commercial and customary users,” Mr Potaka says.
“At the heart must be the health of the Hauraki Gulf. It is Auckland’s playground and the centrepiece of some of New Zealand’s most iconic aquatic events.
“It must be preserved, and we will ensure we do all we can to make that happens if we are re-elected this year,” says Mr Potaka.