The Government's Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Bill passed its second reading in Parliament this week which will establish 19 new marine high protection areas — designed to help protect the Gulf from overfishing.

It's controversial though, because the Government will allow commercial fishing in two of those high protection areas (HPAs).

Back in May, commercial ring-net fishers wrote to the Conservation Minister Tama Potaka, seeking a meeting over their concerns about the Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Bill. They warned that if they were excluded from fishing in the new high protection areas, they'd lose their winter fishing grounds and their businesses might no longer be vialble.

"Our fishing method — ring-netting, is perhaps the most environmentally friendly fishing method with no impact on the seafloor or rocky reef communities and has little to no bycatch," the fishers wrote.

The ring-net fishers — who target kahawai, mullet and parore — told Potaka their businesses could survive if a few tweaks were made to the bill.

"The fish that we catch is sold fresh in local markets, feeding Auckland Maori and the Polynesian community, for which they are highly prized and affordable."

But Potaka refused to even meet with the ring-net fishers — writing to say that the Environment Select Committee had already heard their concerns, and carefully considered them. The committee did not believe they should be allowed to fish in the high protection areas.

But, by October, Potaka had changed his mind after talks with his Coalition partners. He then introduced an amendment to the bill to allow ring-netting in two of the 19 high protection areas.

"I think you and I and everyone in this building [Parliament] changes their mind on different occasions," Potaka told 1News this week.

"As a Cabinet, we came to a decision after long discussion to enable a small number of commercial fishers to fish in very small boats at certain times of the year... the important thing is we're extending the protection to nearly 18% of the entire Gulf."

1News has obtained Fisheries New Zealand advice to the Government that said ring-net fishing in the protected areas would allow a small number of fishers — approximately five operators/vessels — to continue supplying local markets but it would also be "inequitable to other commercial and recreational fishers" and would "reduce the effectiveness of the marine protection proposals".

World Wildlife Fund Aotearoa chief executive Kayla Kingdon-Bebb was highly critical.

"Any time you're doing extractive fishing, extractive activity in what is supposed to be a sanctuary you're undermining its purpose fullstop — and that's what the official advice says."

She said the Hauraki Gulf was in decline.

"We're seeing milky fleshed snapper, we're seeing kina barrens, we're seeing a huge reduction in the number of dolphins whales and seabirds."

Fisheries New Zealand has also carried out an analysis of commercial ring net fishing revenue in the Hauraki Gulf.

It estimated commercial ring-net fishing caught just $13,852 worth of fish in the proposed high protection areas last year, and $438,854 worth of fish in the wider Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.

Kingdon-Bebb said the small value of the fishery within the protected areas exposed the "utter absurdity of the Ministers' recent decision" and showed the ring-net fishers didn't need access to the protected areas. "These fishers could just go around the corner."

Green Party co-leader and Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick was now calling on supermarkets not to stock fish that are caught within the protected marine areas and "be really really clear with New Zealanders' who love the Hauraki Gulf who love our oceans that they will not be taking any fish from those high protected areas".

"At the last hurdle having the doors opened for commercial fishing, people should be outraged, people should be very very angry at that proposal," she told 1News.