This issue has NOT gone away, as Labour will not pass the necessary legislation that it had accepted by Parliament as a Private Members Bill when it was on the opposition benches. This is because it would be seen as provocatively anticompetitive by some of our major trading partners and the WTO.  Apart from raising interesting questions about a countries right to self-determination, it means that we have to continue to fight to maintain the status quo against continual pressure from commercial advocates who would like to see the status of our wild fishery dismantled. More…...

As described above, the protection of our wild trout fishery from the horrors of trout farming is only tenuously held by the provisions in the Conservation Act. Many politicians would like to see that removed. Even worse, it appears the stated intent of Fish & Game NZ to see that removed! Meanwhile, the reports of appalling degradation of the environment caused by salmon farming keep rolling in. We also expect the Malaysian owned King Salmon Company to restart its Salmon Genetic Modification programme as soon as the moratorium on GE is lifted, despite the obvious risks to wild fisheries. More….

We continue to receive reports from all over the country of the continuous and progressive degradation of waterways and fisheries. The competition between commercial interests who pollute or wish to extract water and anglers and conservationists who wish to see it left in rivers continues to intensify. This was nowhere more apparent than in “Project Aqua” which planed to remove two thirds of the water from the Waitaki River. This project has never been fully commercially justified, but just seemed to roll on and over people like a juggernaut. The recent announcement that it was being scapped is great news for anglers, and a tribute to all who toilled so hard to oppose it. It is however, just a pause in the battle, not the final victory. There is still the question of abstraction for irrigation to resolve, and in the meantime, Government has announced it is working on a Water Programme of Action.  More…...

This issue is only currently sleeping. The granting of ownership of the Rotorua Lakes to Te Arawa, and the expected granting of ownership of the Wanganui River back to Maori under that settlement will raise the expectations of Maori, and the divisions within our society still further. This is obviously an emerging issue in terms of access to fisheries and Maori asperations and initiatives for freshwater fisheries.  More…...

Denial of access for the ordinary angler to public waterways is becoming increasingly prevalent. Whether it is because of locking up access for private use or commercial gain, or because of a climate of fear instigated by Farmers representatives, the end result is less opportunity to go fishing. This has been officially recognised by the Acland Report in terms of access to rivers and lakes, and the Foreshore and Seabed debate in terms of sea and estuarine fishing. More……..

To get an overview of the Federations responses to these and other issues, read the Presidents Report give to the last Annual General Meeting in Wellington. More....