The new fishing year is about to start for commercial operators in Bay of Plenty, Hauraki Gulf and East Northland and with it comes new rules aimed at tackling the illegal dumping of fish and wastage.
Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy announced the new measures as part of a raft of changes for the area, which is known as the Snapper One fishery.
Photo: RNZ
The measures include a quarter of trawl vessels in Snapper One having camera or observer coverage by the start of December this year and all of the fleet being covered by 1 October 2015.
All commercial vessels will also have to have vessel monitoring systems in place by then.
Seafood New Zealand chief executive Tim Pankhurst says the measures will cost about $5 million over the next two years.
He says he hopes the changes will reduce conflict between the various sectors and provide greater assurance the right thing is being done.
More about the state of the snapper fishery can be heard on Insight on Sunday.
