Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced yesterday he was ordering an immediate emergency closure of the set net fishery around the Otago Peninsula for a period of three months.
During the closure period, officials will carry out public consultation on long-term bycatch measures to protect hoiho in the area, Mr Jones said.
Proposals in this consultation will include extending the set net ban around Otago Peninsula and aiming to reduce hoiho bycatch in fisheries towards zero.
The defined area closed to fishing around the peninsula was not available yesterday.
The hoiho population has collapsed by 80% since 2008, from 739 breeding pairs to 143.
Yellow Eyed Penguin Trust spokeswoman Claudia Palmer said yesterday the trust was thrilled the government had acknowledged there was a problem and the action would go some way to mitigating the risk faced by the birds.
But there were still concerns about other birds as far north as Banks Peninsula and down through the Catlins to Stewart Island.
"We would like to see it cover the whole range and give the birds more protection. We have been at the tipping point for a long time now. It is a good first step but more needs to be done," she said.
Community groups worked very hard and did all they could on land to support the species but were powerless when the birds went into the water.
The Environmental Law Initiative said the announcement of the emergency closure would protect some hoiho, while leaving others unprotected.
It was aware of three hoiho deaths due to fishing in the second quarter of 2025.
"The collapse of the population is such that even a single death caused by fishing could have a disproportionate impact on the survivability of hoiho."
Nicky Anderson, whose family runs a fishing boat out of Careys Bay, said the industry was reeling from the announcement.
It had volunteered an area to have a set net ban but a larger area had been imposed, though they were still waiting for final maps.
"There’s seven families that are involved in the set net fishery in Dunedin. Of those seven families, I think at least four or five of them have got primary school-age children. This isn’t a big corporate grab," she said.
Two years ago set netting was rated the 10th-highest risk to the hoiho but now it had risen to third, which the industry could not understand.
The boats were well monitored with cameras and observers.
There would be "people that go out of business now. There’ll be people that don’t have the money to be able to cover the three-month period and pay their bills and keep food on the table...
"And I think it would be really nice if we could be seen as people and not corporate because our kids are watching their parents come home broken.
The speed of the emergency closure had been a "little bit bewildering".
A large part of their fishable area was now not available.
"Our son is 10 now and desperate to get on the water. He said to me the other day, ‘I can’t wait to get out and be a fisherman’.
"I just thought, my heart was breaking when I was like, mate, it’s not going to be there for you... If we continue to take away the ground, we’re going to end up importing all of our fish and we’re not going to have a fish industry, unfortunately."
Harbour Fish spokesman Aaron Cooper warned the three-month set net ban destabilised local coastal economies and failed to deliver meaningful conservation outcomes.
The fishery was worth about $2 million annually and central to the livelihoods of fishing families across Otago.
"It also threatens everyday access to New Zealand’s most iconic meal — locally caught fish and chips. New Zealanders should be able to protect our unique wildlife and support the fishing families who put food on local plates," Mr Cooper said.
"Our concern is that decisions of this magnitude are being made without transparent evidence."
