Fish, Game and Water as Public Resources
Submitters raise and emphasise the point that it is a unique feature of legislation in New Zealand that wildlife, fisheries and natural water do not attach to the title of the land upon which they exist. In New Zealand these resources are part of the public estate, for which, a submitter states, "it is not unreasonable for the general public to expect fair and reasonable (albeit perhaps conditional) recreational access".
There has been a formal statutory prohibition in New Zealand on the sale of hunting and fishing rights. Submitters state that, contrary to the prohibition, there is an increasing occurrence of hunting and fishing access rights being sold. This ability to exclude others arises from the authority granted to land occupiers in the Trespass Act 1980.
In some cases, submitters state, this sale of access rights excludes the public from accessing natural resources and, in other cases, requires the public to pay landowners, either for publicly owned fish and game or for access to them. A number of submitters provide evidence that fishing guides are being forced into paying `fees' through the concession system administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC) for access to, or through, its estate for fishing. Another submitter states that some of the best trout fisheries in the central North Island have been captured through the sale of access rights and "to all intents and purposes have become private (commercial) fisheries". In such cases it would be beneficial to address the safeguarding of public interests in land access.
A fish and game management plan of access could be used to address the trout fishing industry and the access situation. A submitter suggests that Fish & Game NZ should negotiate access through private land to reach the fishing resource on behalf of licence holders. A ballot or permit system would be introduced for overcrowded areas. Such a system could involve:
- Fish & Game supplying the landowner's contact name, direction to the farmhouse and additional contact details, such as a telephone number;
- Coloured tags identifying fishers could be displayed, including where vehicle access is required;
- Reduction in fishing guide compliance costs and transaction costs;
- An acceptably-priced bulk concession to be used by guides to conduct low impact fishing activities on the DOC estate;
- Where public access through private roads creates a maintenance cost to the owner, the owner could have a right of redress by negotiation with DOC or Fish & Game to present a receipt for reasonable repair work, factored into license charges; and
- Greater integration between Fish & Game and DOC in managing the fishery.
Contact for Enquiries
Mark Neeson
Manager, Land and Water Policy
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Phone: +64 894 0703
Fax: +64 4 894 0745
