Hauraki Gulf's marine protection areas expanded, but no action on dredging
Monday, 21 June 2021
Trawl fishing will be restricted and marine protection areas will be expanded almost threefold under a new plan to protect Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf.
Minister for Oceans and Fisheries David Parker and Acting Minister for Conservation Ayesha Verrall released the new strategy, Revitalising the Gulf – Government action on the Sea Change Plan, on Tuesday morning.
The changes include the creation of 18 new marine protection areas.
Changes to fishing practices and catch settings, including restricting trawl fishing to within carefully selected “corridors”, will also be put in place under the new strategy.
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**
The Hauraki Gulf stretches from Mangawhai, north of Auckland, to Waihi on the Coromandel Peninsula, and covers 1.2 million hectares of ocean.
Parker said the Government is taking “immediate action” to build on the good work already being done to restore the health of the gulf.
The gulf is one of the country’s busiest areas for recreational boating and fishing, and is home to an important inshore fishery, Parker said.
“All this activity, both on land and sea, has placed pressure on the gulf, and we need to take action to ensure it can be enjoyed by current and future generations.”
The package includes more environmental monitoring, an expanded programme to manage protected species, and a plan to work with mana whenua and local communities on coastal management.
The announcement comes after a panel of experts said the marine area will need at least 30 per cent of its waters turned into reserves and better fishery quota management in place in order to restore its almost barren seabeds and reefs.
The Revitalising the Gulf strategy responds to a call to action in the 2017 Sea Change Tai Timu Tai Pari Hauraki Gulf Marine Spatial Plan.
Hauraki Gulf Forum co-chair Nicola MacDonald said that if implemented, the proposed new marine protected areas and changes would represent the most positive change for the gulf in a generation.
“This is an important first step towards the forum’s ambition for at least 30 per cent marine protection to restore the mauri of Te Moananui-ā-Toi, Tīkapa Moana,” she said.
But some areas remain at risk, and the forum said more ambition is needed to fully protect the seafloor of the marine park from destructive fishing methods.
“The forum’s position is clear: bottom-impact fishing methods like dredging and trawling should be removed from the entire marine park,” co-chair Pippa Coom said.
“A healthy seafloor underpins the whole ecosystem.”
University of Otago professor emeritus Liz Slooten said scientific evidence of serious environmental impacts in the Hauraki Gulf has been mounting for decades.
“Fishing is impacting fish populations and kelp beds, as well as marine mammal and seabird populations,” she said.
“Deaths in gillnets and trawling are a very serious impact on marine mammals, seabirds, sharks and other species. It’s great to see the gulf will be better protected.”
The 2020 State of our Gulf report, produced every three years, showed a collapsed ecosystem due to overfishing, invasive fishing practices, marine dumping and sediment and nutrient runoff, Stuff earlier reported.
Since 2000, snapper, tarakihi and crayfish have been at, or have fallen to, levels requiring action to actively rebuild stocks. Scallop, mussel, crayfish and pāua populations have also been declining for decades.
Greenpeace Aotearoa spokeswoman Jessica Desmond said it was encouraging to see the government finally turning the tide on ocean protection.
“We know that bottom trawling is hugely damaging to ocean health and biodiversity,” she said.
“It’s great to see that this practice will be restricted in more areas of the gulf to allow marine life to recover.”