Accidental turtle killings ‘a major conservation failure’
Thursday, 20 November 2025
The Government is under pressure to curb the accidental killing of critically endangered leatherback turtles, after conservation lawyers urged that rarely deployed powers be used to impose strict limits on commercial fishing.
In letters sent this week, the Environmental Law Initiative (ELI) warned ministers Tama Potaka and Shane Jones that New Zealand’s bycatch rules have become a “major conservation failure”, with at least 43 leatherback interactions recorded so far this year – most in the surface longline fisheries off the upper North Island.
Many of those turtles will not survive, the group says, despite being “absolutely protected” under the Wildlife Act.
ELI is calling on Conservation Minister Potaka to urgently prepare a Population Management Plan (PMP) and set a maximum allowable level of fishing-related mortality (FRML).
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The death limit sets the maximum number of deaths each year before a fishery has to close. It is a tool DOC has never used for any threatened species, despite a High Court ruling last year that its failure to do so was unlawful.
The group also wants Jones, as Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, to use his own powers under the Fisheries Act to impose an immediate fishing-related mortality limit or, if needed, emergency closures in the hotspots where turtles are repeatedly caught.
ELI said there have been 217 leatherback turtle captures in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) from 2007-08 to 2020-21, highlighting a concentration in northern and eastern waters. They arrive mainly in the summer months to feast on jellyfish and salp.
Director of research and legal Matt Hall says most turtles do not survive the trauma of being hooked, entangled or hauled aboard.
“It is appalling,” he said. “We think most New Zealanders would be shocked to know we are killing so many turtles. This is a major conservation failure.”
He pointed to Hawaii, which reduced leatherback turtle bycatch by 83% through strict limits and monitoring. Regulations cap leatherback turtle interactions at 16 per year, close fisheries if that limit is reached, and impose vessel-specific limits of two per trip, with repeated breaches triggering temporary or full-season fishing bans.
“We need to do the same or better here,” Hall said.
The West Pacific leatherback population ‒ which are as ancient as dinosaurs, the world’s largest marine turtles and migrate thousands of miles across the Pacific ‒ has declined by more than 80% in the past 40 years and is at risk of extinction.
Scientific estimates suggest there are only about 1438 mature individuals left.
As well as capture, the turtles face threats such as the harvesting of adult turtles and eggs, plastic pollution, nesting beach habitat loss, climate change, and vessel strike.
WWF-NZ chief executive Kayla Kingdon-Bebb said the decline should alarm ministers.
“The leatherback turtle is a well-known visitor to New Zealand waters, and ranges throughout the Asia-Pacific region … The primary driver of decline for leatherback turtles globally is being accidentally caught and killed in commercial fishing operations — in both deep-water pelagic and coastal fisheries. This underscores why cameras on boats should be rolled out to the whole of New Zealand’s commercial fishing fleet, including vessels operating in deep water.”
WWF-NZ also wants “mandatory modifications to fishing gear, the implementation of total fishery mortality caps, a significant increase in observer coverage in deep-water fisheries and full camera coverage on the commercial fleet, and the creation of new marine protected areas to provide safe havens for these and other vulnerable species”, she said.
Potaka said officials are “focused on practical options” to restore leatherback populations and reduce bycatch.
“With current court proceedings under way, it would be premature to commit to specific tools,” he said. “What is clear is that urgent action is needed, and we are working towards that.
“Officials are preparing advice on the best pathway to manage threats to leatherbacks and other turtles in our waters. DOC’s fisheries liaison programme continues to upskill skippers on best-practice handling to maximise post-release survival. I am confident the management options coming to me will strengthen protections in future seasons.”
Jones was heavily critical of ELI and their approach.
He described their correspondence as “starting to represent graffiti” and said he would take time to receive a “comprehensive briefing” and seek feedback before deciding on any limits or closures.
While acknowledging Hawaii’s success in reducing leatherback bycatch with strict limits and monitoring, Jones said New Zealand could not emulate that approach. “I won’t be racing off to do any closures until I know a lot more about the issue … I’m a New Zealand politician. I’m not a native Hawaiian,” he said.