This month Nathan Guy, the Minister for Primary Industries is due to announce his decision that will determine the future of our snapper fishing through the Bay of Plenty, Coromandel, Hauraki Gulf and East Northland.

Thank you to everyone who joined with LegaSea to make a stand and sent a submission to the Ministry to Save Our Snapper. Also a special mention and thank you to the many people, clubs, businesses, fishing media and concerned citizens who rallied this support and went above and beyond to do their bit. We got our point across to the Ministry loud and clear so now it’s time to turn our mind to the next task and that is putting as much pressure as we can on Nathan Guy to make the right decision.

Through our submissions and proposed options he has all the information he needs. He has the discretion to agree to one of the options presented by his own Ministry or choose another solution – a holistic solution to managing this fishery that will prove he values our support and wants the best outcome for our snapper fishery and our marine environment.

Question is, does he have the kahunas?! Will he be swayed by commercial interests? Perhaps the likes of Peter Goodfellow (President of the National Party AND Board Director for Sanfords) really do have an influence on these kinds of governmental decisions? Time will tell. There’s more we can do, don’t stop now.

Drop a line to your local MP and let them know that you won’t stand for any bag limit cuts while the commercial industry are allowed to dump and waste our precious snapper. Remind them you are a voter and this is important to you.

Get in touch with your local media, feedback is how they judge what is topical. So write a letter to the editor, ring your radio station or national talkback show, share our posts on Facebook and speak up where ever and when ever you can to keep this conversation current and relevant. The politicians need to know we care about our fishery and won’t sit by and let it be taken from us. We have to keep telling them. Our ultimate power rests in our democratic right to vote.

As the public outreach brand of the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council we support and promote your interests for good management of our precious fisheries resources to ensure that there are abundant fisheries for future generations of Kiwis. By making a modest monthly contribution of $5 or more (that’s one coffee or less than a bag of bait) we will be able apply the resources required to effectively lobby for better fisheries and management practices.