Cutting the recreational fishing quota and creating the country's biggest marine reserve off North Canterbury are among the suggestions being made by a local community group.
Te Korowai of Kaikoura on Thursday presented the Government with its marine strategy Sustaining Our Sea at Takahanga marae.
One of their main aims of the group - which is made up of iwi, fishers, businesses and environmental groups - is to increase fish stocks.
They've also drawn up measures to stop fish being stolen, arguing that current regulations struggle to cope with the few people who sell catch that's wrongly taken under recreational fishing rules.
One idea is for Maori poachers to be forced to front up and explain themselves to the local runanga.
Te Korowai says its vision is for a future where the moana, or sea, is richer and healthier.
