The National Party says the Government's changes to whitebaiting policy could lead to a crash in the price of whitebaiting stands.
The Indigenous Freshwater Fish Amendment Bill, which was passed last month, gives the Government more powers to regulate and protect the whitebait population, particularly in protected areas.
However National's conservation spokesperson Sarah Dowie says it's led to uncertainty over the future of whitebaiting.
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"West Coast whitebaiters have invested heavily in their whitebaiting stands, which are essentially a permit to use a particular spot where a structure can be set up," she said in a press release on Saturday.
"Since Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage passed her Freshwater Fish Amendment Bill, the stands haven't been selling and there are fears these assets will plummet in price."
Dowie says these stands are worth an average of $70,000 and can fetch up to six figures. As a result, some people could lose tens of thousands of dollars.
"The minister has the power to ban whitebaiting and the Department of Conservation has reportedly told people to expect changes before the 2020 election," Dowie says.
"Considering the minister's well documented Green Party ideology towards recreational fishers and hunters, whitebaiters have every right to be concerned about their future."
Earlier in the month, Sage was adamant that a ban on whitebaiting is not on the cards.
"The National Party is muddying the waters with misinformation," Sage told Newshub. "There is absolutely no plan for a blanket ban on whitebaiting."
However she said action was needed to protect our native fish. Sage says more than 70 percent of the country's indigenous fish are threatened or at risk of extinction.
"I think New Zealanders want a sustainable fishery and they don't want to be eating threatened fish," she told Newshub.
The Indigenous Freshwater Fish Amendment Bill was opposed by National, which wanted "an evidence-based approach to conservation" including removing whitebait from the ban on fishing on conservation estate rivers.
Newshub.
