{"id":59845,"date":"2023-05-23T15:22:01","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T03:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?p=59845"},"modified":"2024-07-12T10:04:41","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T22:04:41","slug":"what-is-the-draft-fisheries-industry-transformation-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/what-is-the-draft-fisheries-industry-transformation-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the draft Fisheries Industry Transformation Plan?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Like the name suggests the draft Fisheries Industry Transformation Plan<\/a> is an industry focused and led plan that\u2019s being pitched as a kind of long-term vision for the fishing sector. <\/p>\n\n

It sets out to tackle three main areas<\/a> which include strengthening environmental performance, improving profitability and supporting people who work in the fishing industry and is currently out for public consultation.<\/p>\n\n

It\u2019s interesting to note that out of the 11 strong \u201cleadership group\u201d who created the plan – seven are fishing industry leaders, one is a union rep, two are government officials, and just one is from an environmental organisation.<\/p>\n\n

Public submissions are open till June 11 and can be made here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

What\u2019s wrong with the draft Fishing Transformation Plan?<\/h2>\n\n

Despite its name, very little about the draft Fisheries Industry Transformation Plan is actually transformative – especially as it does nothing meaningful to address the threat of destructive bottom trawling<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

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Crewman on the New Zealand bottom trawler, Waipori, dump a large piece of Paragorgia coral dredged from the deep sea in their net.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

It doesn\u2019t commit to banning bottom trawling<\/h3>\n\n

Bottom trawling is one of the most destructive and indiscriminate fishing methods, bulldozing the seafloor with heavily weighted nets and destroying marine habitats, as well as netting large amounts of \u2018bycatch\u2019<\/a> – including coral and endangered seabirds and marine mammals<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n

 In its current form, the plan makes no mention of banning bottom trawling or  any timeline for transitioning away from bottom trawl methods.<\/p>\n\n

Instead, it relies on future \u2018techno fixes\u2019 that will supposedly reduce the harm to the seafloor and fish with more precision. <\/p>\n\n

The problem? The technology is not tried and tested. If<\/em> it is even possible to \u2018reform\u2019 the destructive method of bottom trawling – we are years, if not decades, away from seeing it come into force, and in the meantime – the ocean will continue to be destroyed by trawlers. <\/p>\n\n

It also proposes using government money to buy new fishing vessels<\/h3>\n\n

The plan also includes a proposal that would see government (public) money used to fund new vessels for the commercial fishing fleet. The proposal in the plan is to spend millions on this. Officials could not confirm that this money would not be spent on new trawlers.<\/p>\n\n

A truly transformative plan would protect the ocean for the future for everyone – not just industry – and put ocean health first by including clear goals and deadlines for getting trawl nets off the seafloor.<\/p>\n\n

It should not lock New Zealand into trawling well into the future, by throwing millions of dollars of public money at new trawl vessels.<\/p>\n\n

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Representatives from Greenpeace, Legasea, Forest & Bird and the DSCC had a clear message when they attended a public meeting about the draft Fisheries Industry Transformation Plan in Auckland in May<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

What\u2019s so bad about bottom trawling?<\/h2>\n\n

We know that commercial fishing is the single greatest threat to ocean health, and bottom trawling is the worst of the worst – a highly destructive and indiscriminate fishing method that harms marine habitats and life.<\/p>\n\n

Read more: What is bottom trawling and why is it bad for the environment?<\/a><\/p>\n\n

When a trawler drops its large, heavy net it is pulled across the seafloor, often over great distances. The net can\u2019t discriminate what it\u2019s touching and bulldozes everything in its path, including slow-growing coral and bryozoans, which are the building blocks of ocean life.<\/p>\n\n

The large nets don\u2019t just catch the fish they are targeting, they also scoop up any marine life in the way, including sharks, seabirds, dolphins and sea lions. <\/p>\n\n

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Boats surround a floating \u2018ban bottom trawling\u2019 banner at Mission Bay in Auckland in April as a show of opposition to bottom trawling in the Hauraki Gulf marine park. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The cost of bottom trawling<\/h2>\n\n

In the 2021-2022 fishing year, which is the most up-to-date full year data <\/a>we have, over 10,000kg of coral and bryozoans were pulled up by the commercial fishing industry -mostly by trawl nets. In the same time period, commercial fishing killed almost 800 birds – including endangered hoiho and albatross – and mammals. <\/p>\n\n

What\u2019s even more shocking, is that that data is only the self-reported numbers from commercial fishers. Because we don\u2019t have a comprehensive cameras on boats programme, and observer coverage is so low – we know that the amount of ocean life impacted by commercial fishing is likely far higher. A previous study has shown that having observers or cameras on boats  increased reporting of bycatch<\/a> by eight times. So the numbers above, shocking as they are, are not the full picture. <\/p>\n\n

A healthy ocean means banning bottom trawling<\/h2>\n\n

If we are serious about protecting the ocean for the future we need the government to ban bottom trawling, starting from where it does the most damage:<\/p>\n\n