Claims of illegal fishing and live finning of great whites in New Zealand waters show once again that cameras on fishing boats are long overdue, and must be urgently rolled out.

Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today:

“The Green Party has been clear for a long time that we need cameras on fishing boats, to stamp out illegal practices and protect our fisheries for future generations.

“Reports today that a great white shark was finned alive, and that this happens often, reinforce why we can’t wait any longer to install cameras.

“Unfortunately, a lack of clear evidence is preventing anyone being held to account for these claims.

“Precious threatened species will continue to be decimated until we put in this extra protection.

“The Green Party’s Thriving Oceans plan would speed up the roll-out of fishing cameras on boats. We’re pleased the Government’s moving on this, but we need to go faster to protect our marine life.

“To speed-up the process we would make financial support available to fishers to install cameras on boats, but only until the end of 2022. This would incentivise them to move quickly.

“Our plan would also review the Quota Management System in partnership with Māori, ban the most harmful fishing practices, and protect at least 30% of our oceans in marine protected areas by 2030.

“We can’t sit on our hands while our threatened species are at such huge risk. The reports out today show once again we do more, faster, to protect our oceans.”

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