Ocean reserves 'would preserve marine life without heavily impacting fishing'

Monday, 4 April 2022

With a goal of protecting 30 per cent of the worlds oceans by 2030, a new study shows most marine species could be protected while only having a small impact on commercial fishing.

The study, a joint effort between Auckland University with data from the University of British Columbia, showed 89 per cent of threatened species would be protected as a result of ocean reserves, with only an 11 per cent drop off in global fishing catch.

Study author, Auckland University PhD candidate Tamlin Jefferson, said he was pretty chuffed when he landed on 11 per cent, as that kind of reduction would probably happen anyway with overfishing.

Protecting 30 per cent of the worlds oceans would aide in the conservation of almost 90 per cent of marine species, the study suggests.

“It seems like quite a small price to pay to protect the key areas and species in the sea”.

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Marine reserves preserve fish stocks, which then spill over into neighbouring areas, Jefferson said

The report showed that by strategically placing protection to avoid areas which contribute highly to commercial fishing, the outcomes for biodiversity were still really impactful.

A global approach would be required, with it being ‘imperative’ that a chunk of the high seas gets protected for the survival of threatened seabirds and southern bluefin tuna in particular.

While the research was done on a global scale, Jefferson thinks New Zealand still has a way to go to meet a 2030 target.

Many of the protection areas we have already aren’t designed to benefit fishing and only slightly benefit biodiversity, he said.

“We’re not reinventing the wheel here, just a case of getting protection in the right places”.

Seafood New Zealand Chief Executive Dr Jeremy Helson said the commercial fishing industry could get behind the report, as it highlighted that protecting marine species and fishing can co-exist.

It did depend on the details, he said, of where the protection areas were placed, but protecting the marine environment was very important to the industry.

“Certainly, I think the 30 by 30 goal is possible”.

Helson said that the same scale of marine reserves might not be needed in NZ, as more targetted solutions for issues such as sedimentation runoff could be employed.