6 Whiringa-ā-nuku 2023

On Monday 2 October, Te Ohu Kaimoana filed a declaratory judgement proceeding against the Crown (Attorney General and Minister of Oceans and Fisheries) to address its failing under Te Tiriti o Waitangi to address the 28N rights issue.

The proceeding, filed at the High Court, claims that loss of settlement quota through 28N rights amounts to confiscation, and seeks a declaration that the Crown is in breach of the Fisheries Settlement.  It also seeks a declaration that the Crown must compensate for settlement quota lost as a result of 28N rights.

28N rights confiscations have been recognised as occurring since the early 2000s.

Since 2018, Te Ohu Kaimoana has issued proceedings to injunct and judicially review regulatory decisions made by the Minister that have triggered 28N rights issues through increases to TACCs (Total Allowable Commercial Catch) for a number of different stocks (species).

We appreciate that 28N rights issues can be very technical area, and if you are unfamiliar with this space, you can find out more below by reading this article: https://bit.ly/3rIciEb