Stuff Digital Edition

South Pacific trawling ban decision delayed

Andrea Vance andrea.vance@stuff.co.nz

Fishing vessels will continue to plough over unprotected seamounts in the South Pacific as an inter-governmental summit wraps up this week with no decision on bottom trawling.

But officials have confirmed they will now consider a ban on fishing over seamounts in New Zealand waters as part of work ordered by Oceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker.

The South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), which regulates high seas fishing, was due to launch a review of bottomtrawling rules this year.

The Covid-19 pandemic forced the conference online. And so delegates, from the 15 member states, agreed to push the evaluation out for another year in order to have face-to-face talks.

Meanwhile, New Zealand fishing companies are free to renew their permits to continue trawling over the seamounts.

The fishing practice sees weighted nets dragged along the sea floor, hauling some of our most popular fish: orange roughy, hoki and oreo. About 90 per cent of the catch, for both inshore and deep sea fisheries, comes from bottom trawling.

Conservation groups argue trawling destroys delicate ecosystems that thrive on seamounts. The ocean floor landforms create an upwelling of nutrients which attract marine species to feed, and for centuries have been known as good fishing sites.

The underwater mountains are home to delicate, slow-growing coral, and sea sponges, which are at risk of being destroyed by the heavy fishing gear.

New Zealand has the only fleet still bottom trawling on seamounts in the region’s international waters.

Parliament’s environment select committee is currently

considering a petition to ban bottom-trawling on New Zealand’s seamounts.

Last year, Parker asked the Ministry for Primary Industries and Department of Conservation to begin work on managing the effects of trawling early this year.

The agencies will establish a forum, and the terms of reference are just been finalised, John Young, MPI’s acting director of international policy said. ‘‘It is hoped work can begin very soon.’’

He confirmed the forum will discuss a ban on trawling seamounts.

‘‘We expect the closure of additional seamounts and/or seamount-like features to be considered as part of the forum deliberations.’’

But the $4.18 billion fishing industry argues the practice is well-managed. Vessels furrow repeatedly over the same narrow tracks – they wouldn’t plunder an entire seamount.

The industry, as well as environmental NGOs, are likely to be represented on the forum.

Since 2006, bottom trawling has been banned in a third of New Zealand’s waters (although a large percentage of these areas were never viable for the method in the first place). Now only 3.5 per cent, or 122,000sq km, of the exclusive economic zone (or EEZ) is untouched.

The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, an umbrella group of NGOs, says the SPRFMO pause shouldn’t delay Government action.

Campaigner Karli Thomas says New Zealand representatives at SPRFMO have continually argued against stricter regulation to protect seamounts.

‘‘All six New Zealand vessels authorised by the New Zealand government to trawl on seamounts in the South Pacific belong to companies with recent convictions for illegal trawling in closed areas,’’ she said.

‘‘Their fishing permits expire in April, and there is no reason to delay action until 2023.’’

National News

en-nz

2022-01-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://stuff.pressreader.com/article/281552294247278

Stuff Limited