Greenpeace welcomes the Government announcement this morning to put cameras on all commercial fishing vessels within the M\u0101ui dolphin habitat, but says more needs to be done if we\u2019re to protect our ocean life from fishing industry harm.<\/p>\n
Jessica Desmond, Greenpeace oceans campaigner, says putting cameras on boats is just one of several steps that need to be taken to protect critically endangered M\u0101ui dolphins, of which little more than 60 remain.<\/p>\n
\u201cPutting cameras on boats is essential if we\u2019re to have accurate reporting of key regulated measures such as by-catch,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we also need to see an extension of the marine mammal sanctuary to cover the entire M\u0101ui dolphin habitat, and within this sanctuary a ban on net fishing, seabed mining, petroleum exploration and drilling.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn taking this great first step for M\u0101ui, the Government has acknowledged cameras on boats have a huge role to play in the regulation of our fisheries, and accurate reporting of what is caught.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing this, the Government must now roll out cameras on commercial fishing vessels across the country, to ensure the rules are followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout doing this, we do not have a clear picture of our commercial fishing industry, and we rely on the conscience of individual fishers to report bycatch, such as dolphins.\u201d<\/p>\n
A letter previously obtained by Greenpeace under the Official Information Act, reveals that commercial fishing companies, including Talley\u2019s, have been lobbying hard against putting cameras on boats.<\/p>\n
Desmond says the Government must not allow the fishing industry to self-regulate, and putting cameras on all commercial fishing vessels nationwide is the way we ensure the rules are followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur oceans are under an increasing number of threats – commercial fishing is one of the greatest. But rules to protect our seas are impotent if we can\u2019t monitor that they\u2019re being followed, and without cameras on boats – we simply can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
ENDS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Greenpeace welcomes the Government announcement this morning to put cameras on all commercial fishing vessels within the M\u0101ui dolphin habitat, but says more needs to be done if we\u2019re to protect our ocean life from fishing industry harm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2430,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[25],"p4-page-type":[7],"class_list":["post-5489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-greenpeace","tag-oceans","p4-page-type-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\n