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12-06-2005, West Norfolk Ridge, Tasman Sea: A 400 year old Paragorgia coral being hauled aboard the New Zealand bottom trawler Waipori.
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The breakthrough happened at a meeting in Chile in May, where delegates from more than 20 countries met to discuss the creation of a new regional fisheries management organization for the South Pacific.
In an unprecedented move, delegates agreed to new conservation and management measures to ensure deep sea ecosystems are protected from the destruction caused by bottom trawling. The measures put the burden of proof on each government whose fishing fleets bottom trawl in the region to show damage won't be done to vulnerable deep sea ecosystems.
New Zealand put forward the initial proposal, which after three days of deliberations was unanimously supported. This was a courageous move, given New Zealand boats do 90% of the bottom trawling in the region.
Greenpeace has been saying for years that the indiscriminate destruction of deep-sea life in international waters by bottom trawling must stop. As fish become increasingly scarce in coastal waters, industrial bottom trawlers are going ever deeper and further afield to maintain their catches. Bottom trawling is like mining the deep-sea - like ploughing through an entire forest with a bulldozer in order to capture one species of bird. The result is the destruction of swathes of highly sensitive natural environments. These extremely vulnerable areas include ancient coral forests, fragile sponge communities and a myriad of other forms of life, much of which are not yet understood, let alone identified.
Now, thanks to the tireless campaigning of a whole lot of people, we have the breakthrough we needed.
The new measures that emerged from Chile come into force on 30 September. They mean the New Zealand fleet will have to stop bottom trawling where there are or are likely to be vulnerable ecosystems that could be damaged. They're restricted to fishing only in areas where they've fished in the past and cannot move into any new areas. Each bottom trawler must carry a scientific observer on board and an accurate vessel location tracking system. If, during the course of fishing, the observer finds any evidence of an encounter with a vulnerable marine ecosystem, the vessel must stop fishing immediately and move away at least five nautical miles.
All this will severely constrain the ability of the New Zealand fishing industry to continue bottom trawling on the high seas around New Zealand, because of the cost implications of the necessary research and assessment and observer requirements. It may even have the effect of putting an end to high seas bottom trawling in the high seas around New Zealand for good.
It's up to the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries to put the agreement into effect. The fishing industry will certainly be doing all it can to get the government to back down from its commitments. But we'll be watching closely to ensure this doesn't happen. We'll keep you informed!
Find out more about the meeting and the outcomes at:
www.southpacificrfmo.org
In an unprecedented move, delegates agreed to new conservation and management measures to ensure deep sea ecosystems are protected from the destruction caused by bottom trawling. The measures put the burden of proof on each government whose fishing fleets bottom trawl in the region to show damage won't be done to vulnerable deep sea ecosystems.
New Zealand put forward the initial proposal, which after three days of deliberations was unanimously supported. This was a courageous move, given New Zealand boats do 90% of the bottom trawling in the region.
Greenpeace has been saying for years that the indiscriminate destruction of deep-sea life in international waters by bottom trawling must stop. As fish become increasingly scarce in coastal waters, industrial bottom trawlers are going ever deeper and further afield to maintain their catches. Bottom trawling is like mining the deep-sea - like ploughing through an entire forest with a bulldozer in order to capture one species of bird. The result is the destruction of swathes of highly sensitive natural environments. These extremely vulnerable areas include ancient coral forests, fragile sponge communities and a myriad of other forms of life, much of which are not yet understood, let alone identified.
Now, thanks to the tireless campaigning of a whole lot of people, we have the breakthrough we needed.
The new measures that emerged from Chile come into force on 30 September. They mean the New Zealand fleet will have to stop bottom trawling where there are or are likely to be vulnerable ecosystems that could be damaged. They're restricted to fishing only in areas where they've fished in the past and cannot move into any new areas. Each bottom trawler must carry a scientific observer on board and an accurate vessel location tracking system. If, during the course of fishing, the observer finds any evidence of an encounter with a vulnerable marine ecosystem, the vessel must stop fishing immediately and move away at least five nautical miles.
All this will severely constrain the ability of the New Zealand fishing industry to continue bottom trawling on the high seas around New Zealand, because of the cost implications of the necessary research and assessment and observer requirements. It may even have the effect of putting an end to high seas bottom trawling in the high seas around New Zealand for good.
It's up to the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries to put the agreement into effect. The fishing industry will certainly be doing all it can to get the government to back down from its commitments. But we'll be watching closely to ensure this doesn't happen. We'll keep you informed!
Find out more about the meeting and the outcomes at:
www.southpacificrfmo.org
