297General regulations

1. The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, make regulations for all or any of the following purposes:

2. regulating or controlling fishing and the possession, processing, and disposal of fish, aquatic life, or seaweed including any of the following:
   1. regulating, authorising, or prohibiting the taking or possession of any fish, aquatic life, or seaweed of any stock or species:
   2. regulating, authorising, or prohibiting the taking or possession of fish, aquatic life, or seaweed from any area:
   3. regulating or prohibiting the taking or possession of fish, aquatic life, or seaweed at any time, or for any period:
   4. regulating or prohibiting the taking or possession of fish, aquatic life, or seaweed smaller, or larger, than a specified size:
   5. regulating or prohibiting the taking, possession, or disposal of any fish, aquatic life, or seaweed that is in any specified condition or exhibits specified physical characteristics:
   6. regulating or prohibiting the return of fish, aquatic life, or seaweed to any waters:
   7. regulating or prohibiting any method of fishing:
   8. regulating or prohibiting the possession or use of any kind of gear, equipment, or device used for, or related to, fishing:
   9. regulating or prohibiting the use of fishing vessels or fish carriers:
   10. regulating the number or weight of any fish, aquatic life, or seaweed that may be taken or possessed, whether by reference to any period or on any other basis whatever; and prohibiting the taking or possession of any number or weight of fish, aquatic life, or seaweed that exceeds the specified maximum number or weight:
   11. regulating the methods, equipment, and devices to be used for determining the size or weight of any fish, aquatic life, or seaweed:
   12. regulating the methods, equipment, and devices that may be used to process fish, aquatic life, or seaweed; and prohibiting the processing of fish, aquatic life, or seaweed otherwise than by that method or by use of such equipment or devices:
   13. regulating the methods by, or the circumstances under which, fish, aquatic life, or seaweed may be held, stored, conveyed, or identified, including the use of any containers, marks, or labels:
   14. for the purposes of section 191(1)(c),—
       1. authorising the chief executive to approve alternative methods of disposal of fish, aquatic life, or seaweed:
       2. providing for applications to use an approved alternative method of disposal and prescribing requirements relating to applications:
       3. prescribing criteria that the chief executive must take into account in considering an application:
       4. prescribing requirements relating to the disposal of fish, aquatic life, or seaweed by an approved method of disposal:
       5. providing for, and prescribing requirements relating to, the verification of the alternative methods of disposal of fish, aquatic life, or seaweed.
4. providing for the issue, refusal, renewal, suspension, revocation, surrender, or modification of licences to receive fish, aquatic life, or seaweed by the chief executive, and the imposing of conditions on such licences, whether by the chief executive or otherwise, for persons who wish to act as fish receivers and to purchase or otherwise acquire or be in possession, in prescribed circumstances, of fish, aquatic life, or seaweed taken for the purpose of sale:
5. prescribing requirements relating to the provision, installation, and maintenance of electronic and other equipment (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the requirement for a class of person to provide, install, or maintain the equipment) to observe any fishing and related activities described in paragraph (e) of the definition of fisheries services in section 2(1), and the payment of any associated prescribed fees and charges:
6. requiring, or authorising the chief executive to require,—to provide to the chief executive such information as the chief executive may reasonably require for the purpose of this Act:
   1. any applicant for any licence, permit, approval, or other authority under this Act; or
   2. the holder of any such authority—
7. defining the vessels or classes or types of vessels to which any regulations are to apply:
8. conferring, and making any provisions with respect to, rights of appeal or review against decisions made under the regulations:
9. prescribing details and conditions relating to the registration of fishing vessels and fish carriers and related matters, the method or methods of identifying fishing vessels and fish carriers, the identification marks or symbols or distinguishing flags to be carried by such vessels and by tenders and similar vessels carried by or attached to or used in conjunction with registered vessels, and the identification marks on sails, nets or seines, and other gear used in fishing, by vessels or otherwise:
10. requiring notified users and registered operators of vessels to notify the chief executive of the user of the vessel from time to time:
11. prescribing the accounts, records, returns, and information that any person or class of persons may be required to keep or provide under Part 10 or any other provision of this Act, and providing for—
    1. the manner and form in which such accounts, records, returns, and information are to be kept or provided:
    2. the time for or within which such accounts, records, returns, and information are to be kept or provided:
    3. the person by or to whom such accounts, records, returns, and information are to be kept or provided:
    4. the places where such accounts, records, returns, and information are to be kept or provided:
12. recognising, for the purposes of section 32(2)(b), any form of return or evidence of highly migratory species catch taken in an area outside New Zealand fisheries waters, and specifying any relevant date for the delivery of such return or evidence to the chief executive:
13. providing for the method of calculating provisional catch history for any highly migratory species to ensure consistency with the method used by an international fisheries organisation in determining New Zealand's national allocation for that species:
14. making, for the purpose of this Act, rules and other provisions with respect to the manner and order in which catch is to be balanced against annual catch entitlements or individual catch entitlements, including rules—
    1. prescribing the manner of calculating reported catch and the information or evidence to be used as the basis for calculating such catch:
    2. to be applied in the balancing of annual catch entitlements or individual catch entitlements against reported catch:
    3. providing for remissions or refunds of deemed value amounts:
15. prescribing for the auditing of licensed fish receivers, including regulations—
    1. requiring every licensed fish receiver to provide 1 or more certificates of system audit in respect of the receiving, accounting, and other systems required by this Act to be maintained by the licensed fish receiver, and requiring every licensed fish receiver to provide a description and details of such systems operated by that person:
    2. specifying the frequency with which certificates of system audit and other documentation should be provided to the chief executive:
    3. specifying the type or class of persons who may be approved by the chief executive to conduct audits and issue certificates of system audit:
    4. providing for the issuing of circulars and notices by the chief executive in relation to the processes and methods of system audit to be applied by approved persons:
16. making such provision as may be necessary or expedient for the purpose of giving effect to any determination in relation to any dispute made under section 123:
17. prescribing forms and other documents required for the purpose of this Act:
18. prescribing—
    1. the matters in respect of which fees or charges are payable under this Act, which may include, in relation to any application, an application fee and an additional processing charge:
    2. the amounts of the fees or charges, or the method or rates (including hourly rates) by which they are to be assessed, which may differ depending on whether or not an application is processed on an urgent basis:
    3. the persons liable to pay the fees or charges:
    4. the circumstances in which the Minister or the chief executive may remit or waive payment of the whole or any part of the fees or charges:
19. without limiting paragraph (m), prescribing fees and charges payable under this Act in respect of the functions of the chief executive in relation to aquaculture activities or proposed aquaculture activities in the coastal marine area:
20. without limiting paragraph (m), prescribing fees and charges payable under this Act in respect of the functions of observers, including regulations—
    1. authorising the chief executive to determine the amount payable in individual cases within the minimum and maximum amounts or rates prescribed in the regulations:
    2. prescribing different amounts or rates in respect of different areas or classes of vessels:
    3. specifying the period in respect of which fees and charges are payable, which period may begin when the observer is available to board the vessel concerned while it is waiting in port:
    4. specifying the method by which the amount payable in any case is to be determined:
21. creating offences in respect of the contravention of, or non-compliance with, any regulations made under this Act; and providing for the imposition of fines not exceeding $100,000, including the imposition of different fines in respect of a first offence, a second offence, and subsequent offences:
22. prescribing infringement offences against this Act by commercial fishers and other persons, including—
    1. offences in respect of fishing and related activities, such as offences in respect of—
       1. the taking, possession, return, abandonment, processing, or sorting of fish or other animals that are aquatic life:
       2. transportation connected with fishing:
       3. measures to avoid, remedy, or mitigate fishing-related mortality:
    2. offences in respect of reporting and record-keeping requirements:
23. prescribing the form of infringement notices and infringement offence reminder notices:
24. setting the infringement fee payable in respect of an infringement offence, which fee may not exceed $3,000; and setting different infringement fees for different infringement offences:
25. specifying serious non-commercial offences for the purposes of this Act, which offences must be offences against regulations made under this Act:
26. implementing any provisions of, or giving effect to, any bilateral or multilateral treaty, convention, or agreement to which New Zealand is a signatory or a party, or any understanding concluded by the Government of New Zealand and the Government of any other country; and declaring any such regulations to apply beyond the outer limits of New Zealand fisheries waters in respect of any New Zealand citizen, person entitled to reside in New Zealand indefinitely, body incorporated in New Zealand, or any New Zealand ship or vessel registered under this Act:
27. implementing or giving effect to provisional measures of an international court or tribunal:
29. providing for the operation of registers under sections 98, 124, 186K, and 186ZE, including the electronic transmission of information:
30. prescribing, for the purposes of section 158(1), when an instrument (including an application) is to be treated as having been received for registration, and different rules may be prescribed for different types of instruments and for instruments presented by different means:
32. prescribing such particulars and matters as are required to be shown in the Permit Register, the International Fishing Permit Register, the Fishing Vessel Register, a Quota Register, and an Annual Catch Entitlement Register:
33. specifying the order in which the chief executive is to action transactions specified in the regulations for the purposes of section 63:
34. specifying reasons on the basis of which applications to correct a register may be made under section 164, and on the basis of which the chief executive may correct a register under section 165:
35. setting out conditions and other provisions that apply to approvals given under section 296 for the electronic transmission of accounts, records, returns, transactions, information, notices, objections, requests, applications, or other documents:
36. prescribing circumstances in which, and times and places at which, a commercial fisher or a person authorised to fish in New Zealand fisheries waters under Part 5 is to notify the Ministry that the commercial fisher or person is intending to land any fish, aquatic life, or seaweed:
37. closing an area or areas to commercial fishing, or prohibiting a method or methods of commercial fishing within an area or areas, for the purpose of better providing for recreational fishing for a stock under section 311:
38. authorising the Minister to set or vary management controls in respect of recreational fishing, including—
    1. daily limits, maximum legal sizes, and minimum legal sizes for any stocks, species, or fisheries management areas; and
    2. conditions and requirements relating to the controls:
39. prescribing the matters required to be notified to commercial fishers under section 80(1):
40. providing for such other matters as are contemplated by or necessary for giving full effect to the provisions of this Act and for its due administration.

41. Without limiting anything in subsection (1), any such regulations may—

42. authorise the Minister or the chief executive to issue or impose, as the case may be, any authority, approval, requirement, prohibition, restriction, condition, direction, instruction, order, permit, notice, or circular:
43. exempt from compliance with or the application of any provisions of the regulations any person or species or vessel, or authorise the Minister or the chief executive to grant such exemptions as the regulations may specify.

44. Without limiting anything in this section or section 299(1), regulations made under this section may apply in respect of—

45. fishing to which Part 5 applies; and
46. New Zealand nationals and New Zealand ships when they are outside New Zealand fisheries waters.

47. If the regulations authorise the Minister under subsection (1)(wa) to set or vary management controls in respect of recreational fishing,—

48. the instrument by which that is done is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements); and
49. the regulations must contain a statement to that effect.

50. Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

51. Subsection (6) applies if regulations made under this section authorise any of the following:

52. the chief executive to require information referred to in subsection (1)(d):
53. the Minister or chief executive to remit or waive fees or charges referred to in subsection (1)(m)(iv):
54. the Minister or chief executive to issue or impose an authority, approval, requirement, prohibition, restriction, condition, direction, instruction, order, permit, notice, or circular referred to in subsection (2)(a):
55. the Minister or chief executive to grant exemptions referred to in subsection (2)(b).

56. If this subsection applies,—

57. an instrument exercising that authority is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements), unless it applies only to—
    1. 1 or more named persons; or
    2. in the case of an exemption referred to in subsection (2)(b), 1 or more identified vessels; and
58. the regulations must contain a statement to that effect.

59. Repealed