The price of fish in battle over trawling?
A government forum is considering how to manage the impact of trawling and that includes a possible ban. Recommendations are due back with Oceans and Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash by the end of March. No-one in the ocean advocacy sphere is holding their breath. Rightly or wrongly, there is a sense among conservationists that Nash is more sympathetic to the industry than his predecessor, David Parker.
Added to that is a lingering suspicion that Fisheries New Zealand is too cosy with a business that it is both tasked with regulating and promoting.
Despite a concerted effort by FNZ to throw off this reputation, it remains tainted by a 2016 scandal in which it was accused of turning a blind eye to the capture of marine mammals and illegal fish dumping.
Scientists and conservationists have also expressed concerns about the independence of fisheries management working groups which include industry representatives.
There is also wariness about the relationship between fisheries officials and the Department of Conservation, in which the former often appear to have the dominant role.
This perception of a captured agency was intensified last month, at an annual meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation in Ecuador. SPRFMO, an agreement between 15 countries, regulates fishing on the high seas.
It was largely focused on how to avoid the collapse of the giant squid species under pressure from large Peruvian and Chinese fleets.
But further down the agenda was a proposal from the Cook Islands – heartily supported by New Zealand delegates – on bottom trawling on vulnerable marine ecosystems (like sea mounts).
Official spin on this measure was that it offers protection for up to 70% of these VMEs. But that still allows for trawling on nearly a third (about 33,600 km2).
The European Union (which is currently taking a tough line on bottom trawling) wanted 80% protection, while Chile argued the measure wouldn’t meet UN requirements. The United States has previously demanded 100% protection in other areas, like the North Atlantic.
Given the controversy and international scrutiny, it was an odd (underwater) hill on which to sacrifice New Zealand’s international reputation in ocean policy.
The question is why? New Zealand’s fleet is alone in bottom trawling on seamounts in the region’s international waters. The catch – orange roughy – is small and under-fished.
Our diplomats and officials went in to bat for a fishery that yielded just 20 tonnes for one vessel in 2021.
And, there are much bigger fish to fry. The backdrop to this is ongoing United Nations talks on protecting the high seas from the effects of deep-sea fishing, mining, plastic pollution and climate change with a global oceans treaty.
A major summit wrapped up in New York on Friday, and New Zealand has taken a strong stance on deep-sea mining in international waters.
It makes the Government’s tacit support for bottom trawling both increasingly difficult to understand – and defend internationally.