Last year Fisheries New Zealand consulted on proposed changes to the blue cod seasonal closure in the Marlborough Sounds to reduce fishing pressure. Public submissions closed in December 2024.

Following this consultation, the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries has decided to extend the seasonal closure of the Marlborough Sounds Area recreational and commercial blue cod fishery (previously 1 September to 19 December inclusive) to 1 September to 10 January annually, effective for the upcoming 2025–26 summer and onwards.

The consultation also sought input on wider other potential measures to ensure long-term sustainability of the fishery. Some ideas identified by Fisheries included:

• Spawning recovery areas, to rebuild spawning populations across the Sounds
• Reducing the combined daily bag limit
• A refreshed educational campaign 
• Voluntary catch reporting, survey mailing lists, additional monitoring
• Tools to mitigate predation and release mortality

Fisheries New Zealand will release information on this in the coming weeks. 

See the MPI website for more information.

Marlborough Sounds blue cod – responsible fishing guidelines