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The Maori fisheries settlement trust wants to know how many fish recreational fishers are catching.
The New Zealand Initiative think tank has called for the creation of a single peak body to advocate for recreational fishers and help to balance their interests with the needs of the commercial sector.
Te Ohu Kaimoana chief executive Dion Tuuta says there are aspects of the proposal the new Government should consider.
He says the commercial sector is required to report its catch against quota, but there is little enforcement of recreational bag limits and only the occasional boat ramp survey of what is caught.
That creates tension.
"The Hauraki Gulf, there is a lot of pressure there because of population density and things like that. When you get those pressure, that is where you get conflict between the recreational aspects and the commercial aspects and even the customary aspects," Mr Tuuta says.
Te Ohu Kaimoana welcomes the decision to reorganised the Ministry for Primary Industries and create a new agency, Fisheries New Zealand, but will take time to rebuild the crown’s capacity to manage the sector.
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