Collecting/selling of native aquatic animals - legalities

[Aquila]

Edit 10/01/202

Technically, under the indigenous freshwater fish amendment act (proposed by the Green Party and passed by parliament in 2019), all native fish must be immediately released unharmed to the waterways they were taken from, unless: taken for food, or with authorisation from the Dept. of conservation.

Section 27ZHB

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/publications/par ... tebaiting/ 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.

All legislation is public and can be searched for on http://www.legislation.govt.nz/default.aspx

[cichlidcentral]

sweet, that clears things up!

cheers for that =)

[Insect Direct]

can some please put it simply. what can one do with fish that just breed in private aquariums?

[blueether]

can some please put it simply. what can one do with fish that just breed in private aquariums?

Turn them into fritters?

What have you got to breed?

[Insect Direct]

nothing yet, but i want to breed something

from what i can gather

you can catch and keep pretty much anything legally (not ethically) excluding whitebait unless in season.

buy native fish (think i recall some are sold in petshops now?).

but cant sell without a licence, oh unless its whitebait :roll: .

so, what is going to happen to all these fish, which are effectively creeping into the pet trade but cant be sold?

the average fish keeper isnt going to apply for a permit to release, so whats left, give away to another hobbyist (in the same island), cull or release?

have i missed something or what :-?

[Aquila]

At this stage, you are allowed to give the native fish away to other aquarium hobbyists if they've bred in your tank. You can inquire with Ministry of Fisheries about it if you're really keen...they might give you a threshhold for the amount of fish and frequency you can sell them before you are considered a 'fish farm'. Secondly, you can enquire at the cost and requirements of obtaining a fish farm lisence, it may not be as much as you think.

nothing yet, but i want to breed something

from what i can gather

you can catch and keep pretty much anything legally (not ethically) excluding whitebait unless in season.

buy native fish (think i recall some are sold in petshops now?).

but cant sell without a licence, oh unless its whitebait :roll: .

so, what is going to happen to all these fish, which are effectively creeping into the pet trade but cant be sold?

the average fish keeper isnt going to apply for a permit to release, so whats left, give away to another hobbyist (in the same island), cull or release?

have i missed something or what :-?

[Insect Direct]

Thank you Aquila

[livingart]

- 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/publications/par ... tebaiting/ for further information.

so you cannot catch galaxias or smelt from 1st decenber to august 14th then

[blueether]

Whitebait are defined as being the young or fry of Galaxias...

after they have aged X weeks in fresh water they wouldn't be young fry any more would they? If they are any more than a few 10s of km could they be still classed as whitebait?

I think Stella posted (on here or another forum) that you should beable to identify the fish you are catching to help avoid the "whitebait" tag if you are out of season.

[Insect Direct]

so you cannot catch galaxias or smelt from 1st decenber to august 14th then

Dwarf Galaxias arnt listed as whitebait from what i can tell.

I think Stella posted (on here or another forum) that you should beable to identify the fish you are catching to help avoid the "whitebait" tag if you are out of season.

Yep best to do lots of research first so ive found, otherwise easy to muddle up some species. no point adding fish to an aqaurium that arnt suitable. I take Stella's book with me if checking out a stream, its come in handy a couple of times already.

[blueether]

Dwarf Galaxias arnt listed as whitebait from what i can tell.

No, they don't go to sea

[hunger_4_more]

i say do what you want,our kapiti otaki waterways are ruined now from farmers anyway,i collect.

[rabid]

"If aquatic species are moved between the islands", I guess this means moved between natural aquaria from island to island? or does it apply to all native species moving between artificial aquaria, it seems unclear.

[Sheepsnana]

"If aquatic species are moved between the islands", I guess this means moved between natural aquaria from island to island? or does it apply to all native species moving between artificial aquaria, it seems unclear.

- 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.

They mean between the North and South Islands, etc. Even in captivity, you require permission to move native fish from one chunk of land to another.

[maoripho3nix]

Am I right in saying, that I am allowed to collect (within seasonal and location regulation) -

whitebait (term for species specified therein)

and Koura (most likely from farmed sources),

and keep them in my artificial aquaria, and allow them to eat, live, swim, breed? Obviously wont be releasing them back into the waterways after captivity, or sell. If it comes to it I may eat them eventually :roll: (not the galaxias adults :ton: )

I'm only asking as I will be studying various aspects of land based aquaculture and have a system setup at home to help in my studies. I am favouring native species, but this study will extend into the study of reproductive cycle too. Plus with doing it all at home, the kids get to learn a lot too. Am in discussions with their school on doing some kind of visit once its all fully functional.

So just for greater clarification, I can do all this legally? Im not farming, or selling for that matter, or releasing them into any natural waterway.

[kiwiraka]

Perfectly legal, just don't go fishing in reserves :ton:

I don't think there are any seasonal restrictions on koura.

And you can technically take post-whitebait out of season (ones with patterning) but since it's whitebait season, it's more fun to grow them yourself.

Tell us how you go with breeding them (I'm hoping to set up a pond system to try and breed them)

Also if you end up with any unwanted galaxiids I'd be happy to take them

Have fun

[blueether]

Yes, that all sounds good.

[upvt]

Just read your post which is really helpful. Apart from freshwater animals, is there any legislation just for freshwater plants? If I wish to cultivate only the native freshwater plants for myself and maybe a little for commercial. Do i need a licence to do that?

[alexyay]

Just read your post which is really helpful. Apart from freshwater animals, is there any legislation just for freshwater plants? If I wish to cultivate only the native freshwater plants for myself and maybe a little for commercial. Do i need a licence to do that?

With native plants, you're more than welcome to grow and sell them legally

[upvt]

With native plants, you're more than welcome to grow and sell them legally

Thanks a lot. :gopo: What about the exotic species which is already exist in New Zealand freshwater plants database and do not listed as threaten species? Same apply?

[livingart]

Some exotics are pest species which may incur a fine if you propagate them

[Adrienne]

Thanks a lot. :gopo: What about the exotic species which is already exist in New Zealand freshwater plants database and do not listed as threaten species? Same apply?

Are you intending to grow them on for sale or are you intending to sell the ones you take, therefore taking more than you need - for financial gain?

[upvt]

With native plants, you're more than welcome to grow and sell them legally

[upvt]

Some exotics are pest species which may incur a fine if you propagate them

Thank you. Does this mean I can propagate all the freshwater plants which are already exist in New Zealand and not listed as pest species? I don't need any licence to propagate and selling even I have large amount of them?

[alexyay]

Thank you. Does this mean I can propagate all the freshwater plants which are already exist in New Zealand and not listed as pest species? I don't need any licence to propagate and selling even I have large amount of them?

You're good to go provided the plant doesn't have a status as a pest plant it's always good to encourage the propagation of our natives and it'd be awesome to see them in more tanks!