The commercial fishing industry wants to stop the public getting access to videos and images of fish being discarded and seabirds being caught by fishing boats because they say it could be bad for New Zealand's reputation.

The industry has asked the Government to change the law so that the Official Information Act could not be used by journalists, competitors and other groups to access such information.

Dolphins, sea lions and seabirds being scooped up in trawl nets is sometimes a reality for crews on commercial fishing boats.

But the industry doesn’t want the public seeing photos or videos of it.

Forest & Bird Chief Executive Kevin Hague says the New Zealand fishing industry is trying to cover up the evidence of what's really going on in our waters.

"They are trying to prevent the public from really seeing the terrible toll that their industry takes," he told Newshub.

Dr Jeremy Helson, Fisheries Inshore New Zealand Chief Executive, says that's not accurate.

"It's not about trying to hide information, it's about trying to protect people's rights and interests."

A letter signed by fishing industry leaders was sent to MPI last year. It warns that the planned rollout of video cameras on boats will "raise significant risks for MPI and for 'New Zealand Inc'".