Collecting/selling of native aquatic animals - legalities
Started by Aquila, November 2, 2010
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1953/0031/latest/whole.html
I regularily have to deal with inquires from the public about this sort of thing, so I have summarized some points below:
"Approval is required from the Ministers of Conservation under 26ZM (3) and/or Fisheries under 26ZM(2) of the Conservation Act 1987 to transfer and/or release any live aquatic life into freshwater." The terms ‘live aquatic life’ and “freshwater” are defined in the Conservation Act. The Department of Conservation made a policy decision that section 26ZM(3) of the Conservation Act does not apply to species being transferred or released into artificial aquaria. The process for obtaining these approvals is outlined in section 26ZM of the Conservation Act and involves environmental impact assessment, public notification and consultation. Application forms and information are available from your local DOC office."
Garden ponds are considered to be 'artificial aquaria' as long as they are relatively small (becomes a gray area when considering larger ponds on farmland, semi-rural, or lifestyle blocks) and are not connected to natural waterways or situated on floodplains where habitants or tank/pond water are at risk of being flushed into a natural system. It is under your discretion to assess this risk but you can request someone from DoC to do a site visit if you are unsure.
Regulation 71 of the Freshwater Fisheries Regulations 1983 allows whitebait, or eels, or other indigenous fish to be taken for the purposes of scientific research or for the purposes of human consumption except where prohibited or controlled by other statutory provisions or regulations:
- The Whitebait Fishing Regulations 1994 and the Whitebait Fishing (West Coast) Regulations 1994 govern the taking of whitebait. You cannot lawfully take whitebait outside the whitebait season without approval from the Department of Conservation. Whitebait are defined as being the young or fry of Galaxias maculatus (inanga): Galaxias brevipinnis (koaro): Galaxias argenteus (giant kokopu); Galaxias postvectis (short jawed kokopu): Galaxias fasciatus (banded kokopu), and Retropinna retropinna (smelt). Make sure the gear you use for collection is also allowable. Season for this area runs from Aug. 15 - Nov. 30. See http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/things-to-do/fishing/whitebaiting/ for further information.
- If the species you wish to collect is protected under the Wildlife Act 1953 then you need approval from DOC (no freshwater fish are protected species but some invertebrates are). See schedule of protected species for a list of protected species in NZ. If a species is not protected under the Wildlife Act 1953 and it is not illegal to collect under any other legislation e.g. Biosecurity Act (e.g. unwanted organisms), Freshwater Fisheries Regulations (e.g. Noxious fish), Conservation Act (e.g. Restricted Fish), and then you can collect and keep them on display without a permit.
- Amateur fishers can take their daily bag of 50 koura and use them for whatever purposes they like. This arose from the creation in 2001 of a bag for all species of shellfish not-named under the Amateur Fishing Regulations (eg periwinkles, pupu, etc). The definition of shellfish includes all crustacea, so the regulation now controls all non-commercial taking of koura, copepods, and waterfleas (Daphnia).
- If you wish to collect any species (protected or not) from Department of Conservation land then you will also require approval under the Conservation Act 1987. Freshwater species that occur in areas that are administered by the department (e.g. part of reserves, conservation areas, national parks, faunistic reserves etc.) are generally protected from harvest or commercial use. If you wish to collect fish from these areas then you should check with local DOC staff to see what controls apply. Any permits required should be obtained from the conservancy where the species is to be collected. Generally the department advocate that no more than 10% of the population should ever be removed especially if the species being collected is threatened. One useful website may be http://www.nzfreshwater.org/index_aquaria.html for some general guidance.
- The National Parks Act 1980 makes it unlawful to take any native fish from a national park without the prior consent of the Minister of Conservation and unless the act consented to is consistent with the management plan for the park.
- You may not transfer live aquatic animals from one natural waterway to another without permission. If the species does not exist in the recipient waterway DOC permission is required. If it does already exist there, approval is required from the Ministry of Fisheries. It is also illegal to release fish back into a natural waterway without prior approval, even if you are returning them to where they came from. The only exception would be where a fish has been caught and then returned immediately to the same waterway (eg. if you are recreationally fishing). If a fish that has been in captivity is transferred back into a natural stream it could have contracted some type of disease or fungi which that fish could then spread to a natural population.
- If aquatic species are to be moved between the islands of New Zealand, then approvals must also be requested from the Minister of Fisheries under section 26ZM(2)(b) of the Conservation Act and the Director-General of Conservation under regulation 63 of the Freshwater Fisheries Regulations.
- A person may not raise, feed, release, process, or deal in native fish for sale in any establishment (i.e. a fish farm) without a licence under the Freshwater Fish Farming Regulations 1983. This applies to koura and shrimp as well, and it is up to MFish to follow this up with aquarium hobbyists on TradeMe. They normally don't both if it is a one-off thing (or Daphnia) but where do you draw the line? If someone is selling say 5-10 koura/shrimp a week, then MFish can consider this to be a small fish farm that is operating without a permit....and they can come down on you.