Imagine if...

A brave politician took a stand that actually meant something....

In 2063, as we look out across the mighty Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana and enjoy the sight of millions of native birds dancing over schools of anchovies taking flight in an effort to avoid the abundant and healthy whales, dolphin, sharks, kahawai and haku above schools of tamure, ara ara and tarakihi below, we thank the politicians of 2023 who in their wisdom stood tall, spoke with mana and announced their decision to forever remove all harmful bottom contact bulk-harvesting from this magnificent national treasure, adding further fisheries management tools to grow our stocks for this future abundance.
Their brave, well considered and ultimately election winning move has provided Tamaki Makaurau with the jewel of Aotearoa, alive and abundant today……

…..except they didn’t.
Wake up people. They handed us a sh*t sandwich and I do not like the taste.

In the last three weeks, three important and mystifyingly ignorant decisions were released by the Ministry of Fisheries - first the Fisheries Industry Transformation Plan which sees the government (i.e. us the people) subsidising the damaging harvesting of fish from our rohe moana. This new piece of fisheries policy is the equivalent of a free lunch for students, but they’ve given it to the lazy rich kids. Our fisheries sector doesn’t need hand-out’s, it needs real transformation.

On 27 April 2023 Fisheries New Zealand (FNZ) released its draft Fisheries Industry Transformation Plan (ITP), outlining their vision for commercial fishing over the next decade. Public consultation occurred during May and June, with submissions due by 11 June 2023.

The draft plan was developed by FNZ in partnership with commercial fishing interests. It was based on a 2022 joint project by commercial interests and Northland Inc. to seek government funding to replace the broken down commercial fishing fleet with new, larger vessels capable of trawling, dredging and seining off our coastline.

Officials proposed taxpayers initially spend over 40 million dollars to support the Transformation Plan. However, new trawl vessels can be built overseas, avoiding the need for taxpayers’ input. There are no economic or environmental reasons why we would support this plan.

Transformative change requires innovation that will see the end of bottom trawling, dredging and seining depleting our coastal waters.

On 7 August the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Rachel Brooking, announced the release of the final ITP supporting ongoing trawling, dredging and seining along our coastline.
In consultation and agreement with NZ Underwater, NZ Angling and Casting Association and Legasea, th NZ Sport Fishing Council made a sound submission that proposed a path back to abundance rather than increased effort and environmental destruction as is the status quo now endorsed by the ITP.
Trawling, seining and dredging have no part in the sustainable future of our inshore fisheries (or offshore!). I find it hard to visualise a world where a marine park would be subjected to ongoing benthic abuse through use of these outdated methods - and yet here we are in 2023 still scraping the sea-floor for a few dollars of fish.

The second and slightly better balanced announcement is the Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan.

The Fisheries Plan is aimed at restoring the health of the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Park environment by developing fisheries management objectives. However, the plan will not ban or facilitate a transition out of mobile, bottom-contact fishing methods. It still allows bottom trawling in areas known as ‘trawl corridors’ and commercial scallop dredging to continue in some areas if the scallop fishery reopens.

The plan also lacks objectives for progressing toward ecosystem-based fisheries management.

Ecosystem-based fisheries management starts with a commitment to rebuilding the abundance of fish stocks. However, the plan does not include the creation of separate, smaller fisheries management areas for key marine species from the wider Fishery Management Area 1 (FMA 1) on the northeast coast. These smaller management areas are required to address localised depletion of fish stocks in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.

On 9 August the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Rachel Brooking announced approval for most aspects of the draft Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Fisheries Plan. Trawling will continue until consulted on later in the year. There will be new legislation put through Parliament in Sept/Oct to confirm 19 new marine protected areas (MPAs). That is, 12 new High Protection Areas, 5 Seabed Protection Areas and extensions to the Goat Island and Cathedral Cove marine reserves. There will be opportunity for public debate when the proposed legislation goes through the House.

We are on standby to respond to the Bill as it passes through the House. A busy yet convenient time given the general election is on 14 October 2023.

And today (29 August 2023) the government announced that up to 89% of the gulf would be closed to trawl fishing' but “a complete ban was considered, but there were concerns that boats would simply move to areas outside the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, especially Northland and the Bay of Plenty, putting extra pressure on the fisheries in those areas” which begs the question, why are they not;

1. Introducing smaller fisheries management areas to manage localised depletion?

2. Addressing fisheries management hand-in-hand with closing areas to reduce actual take and manage fisheries to abundance?

3. And seriously, how misleading is that headline!?!?! 89% still leaves 11% open for trawling and more likely, the accepted proposal will not be the most extreme - the donations from the fisheries lobby are too lucrative.

This screams of a complete disconnect between fisheries management and environmental protection where one will lead inexplicably to the demise of the other.

Once again the fish (and the public) lose. If there is no reduction of take to match the closed areas, this will simply lead to two outcomes:

1. More pressure/lower abundance in open areas

2. Fewer people (the public) actually fishing as many of the closed areas represent the best and safest area’’ for small, inshore craft.

Yes, closed areas for preservation of strategic ecosystems is necessary and a great step forward (there’s certainly scope for more!) but not addressing bottom contact commercial fishing or the catch levels is absolutely bonkers. The public and the Gulf deserve more, deserve better and deserve bolder decisions to provide a truly sustainable and abundant ecosystem.

It’s hard not to want to scream at profanities at full voice towards the fisheries managers who allow these skewed and damaging proposals to make their way to the Minister for their approval. We were somewhat blessed by the demise of Stuart Nash as David Parker stepped in and stepped up in his time as Fisheries Minister - his decisions on Snapper/tamure, tarakihi, scallops and crayfish/koura were bold, brave in that they gave precedence to sustainability and abundance, and opposed the advice given by ministry officials - begging the question: Who is really guiding the Minister, officicials or the commercial fisheries lobby??

Sadly Minister Parker moved on and the ministry officials/lobby have a new, understandably inexperienced and more easily manipulated minster to mould to their preferences.

When the new Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana proposals are announced and submissions due, I strongly advise you to submit alongside Legasea and the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council - in my opinion the strongest and most successful fisheries lobby groups protection our rights and standing up for the future abundance of our fisheries.

We MUST not allow the ministry managers to keep selling our fish to the highest bidder at the cost of future abundance. Stand up now and speak for our fisheries!