Sunday Star-Times

Renewed push for bottom-trawling ban

In an open letter to the Govt, former conservati­on minister Eugenie Sage pushes for a ban on bottomtraw­ling across four million square kilometres of ocean. By

- Henry Cooke.

The Green Party has begun a renewed push to ban bottom trawling across New Zealand’s four million square kilometres of ocean jurisdicti­on.

In an open letter released to the Sunday Star-Times, former Conservati­on Minister Eugenie Sage urges Environmen­t Minister David Parker to ban the practice, in which heavy nets are dragged along the ocean floor to catch many fish at once, across New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone.

‘‘Over decades, successive government­s here in Aotearoa New Zealand have enabled our oceans to be exploited for shortterm economic gain,’’ Sage wrote.

‘‘Bottom trawling... destroys centuries-old communitie­s of deep-sea corals, sea sponges and other marine life. They will take centuries to recover; if they do at all. It is an indiscrimi­nate fishing method. Urgently ending bottom trawling would signal that Government is serious about healthy fisheries and thriving oceans.

‘‘The United Nations has called for action to protect seamounts from destructiv­e fishing practices. Chile has banned bottom trawling on 98 per cent of the seamounts in its jurisdicti­on. I ask that you prioritise a ban on destructiv­e bottom trawling so that Aotearoa New Zealand plays its part in sustaining our oceans.’’

The open letter was accompanie­d by a parliament­ary petition pushing for a ban.

The Green Party is in a ‘‘cooperatio­n agreement’’ with the Labour Government, but has far less direct input into decisionma­king than it did last term, meaning the party is using public pressure campaigns more and more.

The deep-sea trawling petition is similar to a campaign the party ran recently, attempting to speed up the ban on gay conversion therapy, which drew more than 100,000 signatures.

Political parties use petitions both to highlight public pressure and to amass contact details for swathes of potential supporters and donors.

Sage said that New Zealand was seriously behind other nations in marine protection.

‘‘We are lagging because we’ve only got about 52 per cent of our seamounts protected,’’ Sage said.

Seamounts – underwater mountains – are biodiversi­ty hotspots and huge targets for bottom-trawling, as they are closer to the surface and feature many fish.

‘‘When they are down there on the seabed they destroy virtually everything in their path,’’ Sage said. ‘‘Some areas of the seabed have been trawled every year for the past 30-odd years.’’

A petition from Greenpeace sporting 50,000 signatures was delivered to Parliament and Parker late last year.

Parker said at the time the Government had not made a decision on the matter.

‘‘We didn’t go to the election with a promise to ban bottom trawling, obviously there are some legitimate concerns about the adverse environmen­tal effects of bottom trawling, there are new technologi­es that are coming and I’m quite happy to look at the issue carefully,’’ he told RNZ.

‘‘Urgently ending bottom trawling would signal that Government is serious about healthy fisheries and thriving oceans.’’ Eugenie Sage

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 ?? JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/ STUFF ?? Former Conservati­on Minister Eugenie Sage says New Zealand is lagging behind when it comes to oceanfrien­dly policies.
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/ STUFF Former Conservati­on Minister Eugenie Sage says New Zealand is lagging behind when it comes to oceanfrien­dly policies.

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