She said claims from protesters that commercial fishing was allowed in two of 12 reserves was misleading.

“[Five small-scale ring-net fishers] have been given a just transition. They are able to fish within a very small section of two of the HPAs, but it’s a grandfathered provision – so that means when all of those individual fishers exit, they can’t be replaced. They can’t pass on that exception.”

Seafood NZ assured One Ocean protesters the Government was not planning to add any species to the quota management system.

She said what was being proposed was if marlin or some reef fish were caught as bycatch, they would be able to be kept and sold.

“What is on the table are two proposals which would see certain species, marlin and some reef fish, able to be sold commercially when they are caught as bycatch by commercial fishers. So that’s a very, very different thing.”

Despite concerns of traffic congestion, by 10am Saturday, the hundreds of people driving in part of the convoy had mostly passed over the Harbour Bridge with minimal disruption.

Fisheries Minister Shane Jones previously said it was “a bit late” to protest, as recreational fishing lobby group LegaSea had “signed up to this policy some years ago”. LegaSea denied this. Chissell said the One Ocean Protest was a separate entity.

– RNZ