Recreational fishers are calling for the Government to step in to end the practice of exclusive fishing access deals.
The Federation of Freshwater Anglers says about 40 rivers nationwide are partially blocked from the public by landowners who have been paid for exclusive capture rights by trout fishermen and private lodges.
Federated Farmers denies the practice is going on, but Fish and Game and the Professional Fishing Guides Association are supporting the anglers' call.
The angling federation's president, Jim Hale, says Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson has been unwilling to meet him to discuss the problem because of fears that changes would diminish farmers' property rights.
Mr Hale says it is already illegal to sell the right to fish, but he says exclusive farmer access remains a legal grey area.
