13 October 2024

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) New Zealand is branding the Government a “disgrace” for pushing through last-minute changes to the Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Bill that allow destructive commercial fishing to take place in protected areas.

As reported today, the Government has decided to amend the Bill to allow a type of fishing known as ring-netting to take place in the new ‘high protection areas’ – zones which had been explicitly designed to exclude both commercial and recreational fishing and provide a safe haven for marine life to recover.

WWF-New Zealand’s CEO, Dr Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, says the news is a devastating blow for all those who’ve worked to revive the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana and protect it for future generations.

“So many Aucklanders, from all walks of life, have spent more than a decade creating a plan to restore the health and mauri of Tīkapa Moana, our country’s most widely used coastal area and a biodiversity hotspot on the doorstep of our largest city . 

“To have these last-minute changes rammed through as a result of sleazy, backdoor lobbying - which our Oceans and Fisheries Minister was willing to entertain -  is a complete and utter disgrace.

“It’s a slap in the face for all those who’ve worked so hard to protect this special place, another blow for marine ecosystems in the Gulf already on the brink of collapse – and frankly, it’s a complete betrayal of all Aucklanders.”

WWF-New Zealand is now urging people to sign an open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon asking him to reverse this rash, last-minute decision.

“Honestly, I doubt the Prime Minister has a clear understanding of what he’s just signed on to, or the resistance he’s going to see from Kiwis in Auckland and around the country. I encourage everyone who cares for the Hauraki Gulf - and for our ocean more generally - to urge him to rethink this bizarre and unconscionable decision,” says Kingdon-Bebb. 

Successive State of the Gulf reports have painted a picture of an ecosystem on the brink of collapse. 

Overfishing, habitat loss, pollution, sedimentation, and the effects of poorly planned urban development have led to a 57% decline in key fish stocks in the Hauraki Gulf, a 67% decline in seabirds, and a 97% decline in whales and dolphins. Crayfish populations and scallop populations are now functionally extinct in some areas.

“The Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Bill was a critical last chance to support the Hauraki Gulf to recover and thrive for future generations,” says Kingdon-Bebb.

Marine protected areas are widely recognised as the leading tool for restoring biodiversity and critical marine habitats, and for improving overall ecosystem functionality. Spatial protection measures have also been proven to benefit large pelagic fish species and allow depleted stocks to recover.

The Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Bill is the result of years of collaborative work between tangata whenua, environmental groups, commercial and recreational fishers and others involved in the SeaChange process that began in 2013. 

“Allowing commercial fishing to occur in these high protection areas makes a mockery of all the years of work on the SeaChange process and the Government’s response to it,” says Kingdon-Bebb.

The type of fishing allowed to continue in the high protection areas is known as ring-netting. It is similar to purse seining and targets bait-fish species that congregate in the mid-water and which apex predator species like snapper rely upon for survival. 

“Key species like kahawai are already over-fished in the Hauraki Gulf, and the impact up the food chain is evident with starving, emaciated snapper now a common sight,” says Kingdon-Bebb.

“Ring-netting is also indiscriminate; while targeting small bait fish, other species like  seabirds, rays, and other fish species are often ensnared in these large nets and killed. Our threatened species are supposed to be given refuge in the new high protection areas, which are deliberately designed to protect critical biodiversity. It’s a travesty that enabling commercial fishing in these places would be given the green light.”

In June, the Environment Select Committee agreed unanimously the Bill should be taken forward with no substantive changes to the high protection areas.

This Bill, which is due to have its second reading in Parliament, aims to restore the health of the Gulf by establishing two marine reserves, five seafloor protection areas, and 12 high protection areas.

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