One Ocean Protest has fired back at Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones with a pointed Sunday morning statement, pressing him to explain several remarks he made in a video posted following Saturday's large-scale protest convoy across Auckland.
The statement landed as Jones was travelling to Paihia for face-to-face meetings with recreational fishing representatives, and organisers framed it as a direct follow-up to what they described as a safe and positive day on the water and on the roads.
Saturday's demonstration drew thousands of participants, with boats, trailers, and jet skis joining supporters in a convoy stretching from Albany to Mission Bay along the Auckland waterfront. The turnout reflected strong opposition to proposed changes to marlin bycatch rules and broader concerns about the government's direction on fisheries policy.
Central to the Sunday statement is a challenge over Jones' references to onboard cameras as a mechanism for confirming when a dead marlin is brought aboard a commercial vessel. One Ocean Protest has asked the minister to clarify whether the system he described is the same one that has reportedly suffered significant reliability problems, and has raised concerns about oversight being tied to companies connected to the commercial fishing sector.
The group also took aim at Jones' use of the word "misinformation", demanding he identify precisely what he believes organisers got wrong so they can respond to it. They noted that no one from the minister's office had made direct contact with them, even as opposition parties had reached out. In his video, Jones said he planned to address "anxieties and misinformation" and described marlin as "a majestic creature of the sea" while outlining his proposal to allow dead marlin to be landed provided the event is recorded on camera.
Organisers also pushed back at a line Jones used in the same video, "If you strike me, I'm going to strike you," describing it as an unusually combative tone for a minister who was preparing to sit down with recreational groups later that same afternoon. They also sought clarification on his reference to "mischievous mythologies", saying the phrase was too vague to be meaningful and deserved elaboration.
Here is the Facebook video loaded yesterday (Saturday):
Alongside these challenges, the statement pointed to the scale and character of Saturday's convoy, highlighting supporters who had travelled long distances overnight to take part, high-value boats flying protest flags, and backing drawn from across the recreational fishing and boating communities.
Jones, for his part, said in the video that he was approaching the Paihia meeting in a spirit of constructive conversation. He emphasised that marlin remain outside the quota management system and argued that permitting dead marlin to be landed would cut down on waste and bring greater transparency to what happens aboard commercial vessels.
One Ocean Protest made clear it has no intention of stepping back if the proposals remain on the table, signalling the possibility of coordinated action at both regional and national levels as the campaign continues.
With statements flowing from both sides across the weekend, the argument over marlin bycatch rules has moved firmly into the public arena, and it shows little sign of fading for recreational fishers and coastal communities in the days ahead.
