Seafood stock danger

The sea has always been particularly bountiful for us humans wishing to eat, but it won’t necessarily stay that way. Fishing has always had something "fishy" about it. It seems greed has driven many fishermen, both commercial and recreational, to take more than their fair share. Any attempt to regulate them is met with blather and, indeed, anger at times. The Hauraki gulf is being destroyed by bottom trawling and the sheer numbers of people trying to "get a feed". With climate change warming the water and Auckland's water woes discharging all manner of effluent into it, it will be a miracle if there is any seafood left in a decade or so. As they have found in Wellington, take away the snapper and the ensuing explosion in kina will take away your kelp that help protect the shoreline. Cameras on boats to check on fishing activities have been fought all the way by commercial interests. Deep sea trawlers from countries that are not averse to thumbing their respective noses at local regulations are getting larger and more sophisticated whilst being mothered by even larger ships to keep them productive for longer. Now a criminal element has entered the fray and we are clearly not able to stop them. One day we will wake up and our seafood stocks will have collapsed. Toheroa, paua, scallops, snapper, blue cod, tuna, crayfish, perhaps all of the above. Just don't expect (Dr) Shane Reti-Jones to lead the fight to save them. He has already shown colours we didn't want or expect. Geoff Orchard, Ōhaupō (abridged)