In February 2025, New Zealand’s High Court ruled on a challenge to the former Oceans and Fisheries Minister over his legal obligation to support marine sustainability. The Environmental Law Initiative (ELI), in coalition with local hapū Ngāti Hau and Ngāti Kaharau, called a 2023 Fisheries New Zealand decision on crayfish catch limits in Northland into question.
The ELI alleged, and the court concurred, that then-Minister Stuart Nash was presented with four options for addressing marine ecosystem crises. None of them would have adequately tackled the over-abundance of kina (sea urchins) in Northland waters.
Historic over-fishing of crayfish, a keen predator of kina, has lead to an overwhelming proliferation of the spiny creatures, which feed on the kelp forests that once populated our seas. Extensive tracts of kelp have been lost since the 1960s, a detriment to coastal ecosystems. Kelp forests provide complex habitats and subsistence for countless fish and other marine life, similar to terrestrial forests. The loss of these environments have undermined once abundant sources of food and utility for coastal communities.
Professor Andrew Jeffs, marine scientist at the University of Auckland and Ngā Ara Whetū affiliate, remarked late last year:
“The science overwhelmingly supports closing areas of the ocean to fishing for crayfish; this would allow the crayfish numbers to increase and eat enough kina so that kelp can recover in the barrens, as well as our coastal ecosystems that [depend] on kelp forest.”
Professor Jeffs, who served as a consultant for the case, drew attention to a serious lack of literature in the decision paper presented to Nash. He cited numerous papers discrediting the decision to only slightly adjust the catch limit and advocated for the closure of coastal zones to fishing as a more effective practice. Not only does this significantly mitigate the kina barren problem, as seen in marine nature reserves, it functions in line with the rāhui of local hapū, frequently implemented as stewardship of natural taonga when resources are scarce.
It is notable that the decision-making process also failed to consider the kaitiakitanga of Ngāti Kaharau me Ngāti Hau, and neglected input and participation from tangata whenua.
Professor Jeffs gave evidence alongside his colleague Associate Professor Nicholas Shears, who also supported spatial closures and protections as a superior coastal preservation strategy. Shears asserted that the reductions considered by the decision paper were inadequate even by the paper’s own standards, but no alternative measures were offered to the Minister.
This is the second time that an ELI challenge to Fisheries New Zealand decisions has been ratified by the High Court; the first time being in 2022, in cooperation with Te Uri o Hikihiki hapū. While the more recent case hinged on the poor quality of decisions presented to the Minister, the earlier contention challenged a lack of any acknowledgement that the kina barren problem even existed.
The High Court has called upon the Ministry to take decisive action to address the kina populations. Raising the recreational kina take limit, an option posed by Fisheries New Zealand, does not address the underdeveloped kina predator population. Kina barrens are a significant threat for marine ecosystems, likely to have a serious impact on local ecology in coming years. Urgent restoration of the coastal seabed is a priority.
All of this comes in the context of a “major shake-up” of fishing quotas by Shane Jones, the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries in the new coalition government. Hopefully future decisions will consider the closure measures that the ELI put forward, informed by both hapū and marine science.
Recent work by Dr. Andrew Jeffs:
Herbst, P (Host). (2024, July 31). Farming the sea – Seaweed aquaculture research in New Zealand (Episode 7) [Audio podcast episode]. In Sustain. Ngā Ara Whetū. https://www.ngaarawhetu.org/sustain-episode-6-farming-the-sea-seaweed-aquaculture-research-in-new-zealand/
Hall, A. M., South, P. M., Elvy, J. E., & Jeffs, A. G. (2025). The effects of water motion on fragmentation of Asparagopsis armata. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288330.2025.2458508
Wu, W., Lundquist, C. J., & Jeffs, A. G. (2025). Determining the significance of pelagic versus juvenile dispersal of larvae in a coastal mussel. The Science of the Total Environment, 969, 178940-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178940
Stobart, R. L., Jeffs, A. G., Hillman, J. R., & Skelton, B. M. (2025). Assessing the use of remote underwater video (RUV) to identify fish and their feeding behaviour in New Zealand’s GreenshellTM mussel (Perna canaliculus) farms. Aquaculture, 596, 741826-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2024.741826
Jordan, A., Skelton, B., Mugica, M., & Jeffs, A. (2025). Any Sugar with That? Assessment of Dissolved Sucrose as Supplementary Feed in Nursery Rearing of Juvenile Bivalves. Fishes, 10(1), 27-. https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes10010027
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