{"id":70824,"date":"2025-06-11T11:39:31","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T23:39:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?p=70824"},"modified":"2025-06-11T17:00:55","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T05:00:55","slug":"protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/","title":{"rendered":"Protected corals destroyed in six-tonne bycatch \u201cdisaster\u201d from a single bottom trawl"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>BREAKING:<\/strong> It\u2019s been revealed that a New Zealand bottom trawling vessel has pulled up six tonnes of protected stony coral in a single trawl &#8211; making it the worst reported case of coral destruction in New Zealand waters in over a decade.<br><br>Environmentalists are describing the incident as \u201ca stark reminder of the horrors of bottom trawling\u201d and are renewing calls for the destructive fishing method to be banned on seamounts and other vital deep sea habitats.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"&#039;David Attenborough would be mortified&#039;: 6 tonnes of coral caught by trawler off Christchurch\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BR9APfpRWas?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n<p>The stony coral, which is a critical reef building coral and protected in New Zealand, was pulled up by an unnamed trawler towards the end of the 2024 while it was fishing on the Chatham Rise, a large underwater plateau with seamounts and a diverse range of ocean life, off the South Island\u2019s east coast.<br><br>The data was released by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) only after an official information request by the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC) and is the largest reported coral bycatch since a similar incident in 2008.<\/p>\n\n<p>Karli Thomas from the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, who\u2019s at the United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC) in France, says the incident is \u201ca disaster for deep sea corals\u201d and is \u201ctruly heartbreaking\u201d.|<br><br>Reef building corals, like stony corals, are slow growing and can live for thousands of years. Coral reefs in the deep sea provide critical habitats for a variety of deep sea life.<br><br>\u201cIf this incident had happened in the international waters of the South Pacific, the area would have been immediately closed to trawling. Coral must be protected if we want healthy and thriving ocean ecosystems and this latest coral bycatch is a reminder of how destructive bottom trawling is &#8211; and why it must be banned from ancient and fragile deep sea habitats\u201d says Thomas.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>Greenpeace spokesperson Ellie Hooper says Greenpeace witnessed the kind of destruction caused by trawlers in the deep sea first hand, during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/explore\/oceans\/south-pacific-seamounts-expedition\/\">seamount expedition in March<\/a> where deep sea cameras were used to survey the seafloor, including in intensively trawled areas.<br><br>\u201cWhat we saw was shocking; hours and hours of footage of lifeless fragmented and broken coral &#8211; a coral graveyard in the deep. The bottom trawling industry has gotten away with this kind of destruction in the waters of Aotearoa and the South Pacific for too long. Trawling causes indiscriminate damage to these vital habitats. It\u2019s indefensible and it must stop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"677\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam-1024x677.png\" title=\"A trawl net full of coral and bycatch\" alt=\"A trawl net full of coral and bycatch\" class=\"wp-image-70827\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam-1024x677.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam-600x396.png 600w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam-768x507.png 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam-1536x1015.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam-510x337.png 510w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam.png 1674w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The bottom trawl net full of bycatch including protected coral released under the Official Information Act<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>Dr Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, Chief Executive of WWF-New Zealand, is also on the ground at UNOC and says this incident further underscores the absurdity and unsavouriness of Seafood New Zealand\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepost.co.nz\/nz-news\/360687317\/tone-deaf-happy-birthday-message-david-attenborough\">recent greenwashing<\/a> of the widespread reliance on bottom-trawling in Aotearoa\u2019s commercial fisheries.<br><\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cIf people were horrified by the bottom-trawling depicted in Sir David Attenborough\u2019s new <em>Ocean <\/em>film<em>,<\/em> then they will be shocked to know that some of what takes place in Aotearoa is actually far worse than that footage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cThese images of a trawl net bursting with tonnes of bulldozed corals speak for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p>While MPI is attempting to argue the bycatch was a mix of natural and dead coral &#8211;&nbsp; and mud &#8211; Barry Weeber from ECO calls this&nbsp; \u201cdisingenuous\u201d.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"717\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/f4ab2f4a-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.48\u202fam-1024x717.png\" title=\"A close up of a trawl net showing coral that has been dragged up during a trawl\" alt=\"A close up of a trawl net showing coral that has been dragged up during a trawl\" class=\"wp-image-70829\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/f4ab2f4a-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.48\u202fam-1024x717.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/f4ab2f4a-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.48\u202fam-600x420.png 600w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/f4ab2f4a-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.48\u202fam-768x538.png 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/f4ab2f4a-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.48\u202fam-485x340.png 485w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/f4ab2f4a-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.48\u202fam.png 1510w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A close up of a trawl net showing coral that has been dragged up during the 6,000kg coral bycatch trawl. Image released under the Official Information Act<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>\u201cThere is no way that official coral bycatch would be registered in the data with mud making up part of that weight. There are separate codes for an observer to record non-biological material on vessels and MPI reports the bycatch on their public database as corals, not corals and mud. The government spin that this catch is half mud is simply ludicrous and reeks of an industry-captured government department defending the indefensible. The image they provided doesn\u2019t show any mud at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p>Weeber says that mud making up a significant portion of the catch seems unlikely given the towing speed and having to retrieve a net from nearly 1km down:&nbsp; any mud would be washed out of&nbsp; the net.<br><\/p>\n\n<p>He also noted dead coral was an important part of the ecosystem.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>The release of the coral bycatch information comes as the New Zealand government is attending UNOC.&nbsp; One of the issues that will be discussed is a global fund for coral reef conservation, to which Foreign Minister Winston Peters has pledged NZD $16.2 million (USD $10 million).<br><br>\u201cIt\u2019s deeply ironic that the New Zealand government is internationally promoting coral conservation while wholesale coral destruction like this continues in our waters, and bottom trawlers are still allowed to trawl on seamounts and features &#8211; areas we know are hotspots for protected corals,\u201d said Karli Thomas.<\/p>\n\n<p>Environmental groups have repeatedly called on the New Zealand government to ban bottom trawling on seamounts and other areas where protected corals are known to occur, and to stop issuing permits to New Zealand vessels to bottom trawl on seamounts in international waters. New Zealand is the only country with vessels still bottom trawling seamounts in the South Pacific high seas.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\t\t\t<section\n\t\t\tclass=\"boxout post-5430 \"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-action=\"Image\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"cover-card-overlay\"\n\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/act\/ban-bottom-trawling-on-seamounts\/\" \n\t\t\t><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2018\/06\/c29372db-gp01g13-1024x718.jpg\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2018\/06\/c29372db-gp01g13-600x421.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2018\/06\/c29372db-gp01g13-768x538.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2018\/06\/c29372db-gp01g13-1024x718.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2018\/06\/c29372db-gp01g13-485x340.jpg 485w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2018\/06\/c29372db-gp01g13.jpg 1200w\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 358px, (min-width: 780px) 313px, 88px\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\talt=\"Orange Roughy caught on Trawler\" title=\"Orange Roughy caught on Trawler\"\n\t\t\t\t\/>\n            \t\t\t<div class=\"boxout-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"boxout-heading medium\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-action=\"Title\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/act\/ban-bottom-trawling-on-seamounts\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBan Bottom Trawling on Seamounts\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"boxout-excerpt\">At home and far out to sea, our oceans are being plundered for profit by the fishing industry through bottom trawling. But what is bottom trawling and why is it so destructive to ocean habitats?<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t                                    <a\n                        class=\"btn btn-primary\"\n                        data-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n                        data-ga-action=\"Call to Action\"\n                        data-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n                        href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/act\/ban-bottom-trawling-on-seamounts\/\"\n                        \n                    >\n                        Take Action\n                    <\/a>\n                \t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BREAKING: It\u2019s been revealed that a New Zealand bottom trawling vessel has pulled up six tonnes of protected stony coral in a single trawl \u2013 making it the worst reported case of coral destruction in New Zealand waters in over a decade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":70827,"comment_status":"open","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":[25,44],"p4-page-type":[7],"class_list":["post-70824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-greenpeace","tag-oceans","tag-fishing","p4-page-type-press-release"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.8 (Yoast SEO v26.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Protected corals destroyed in six-tonne bycatch \u201cdisaster\u201d from a single bottom trawl<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Protected corals destroyed in six-tonne bycatch \u201cdisaster\u201d from a single bottom trawl\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BREAKING: It\u2019s been revealed that a New Zealand bottom trawling vessel has pulled up six tonnes of protected stony coral in a single trawl \u2013 making it the worst reported case of coral destruction in New Zealand waters in over a decade.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Greenpeace Aotearoa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/greenpeace.nz\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-10T23:39:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-11T05:00:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam-1024x677.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"677\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Emma Page\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GreenpeaceNZ\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GreenpeaceNZ\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Emma Page\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Emma Page\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/59b248463b1fa04caafa6e032911145c\"},\"headline\":\"Protected corals destroyed in six-tonne bycatch \u201cdisaster\u201d from a single bottom trawl\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-10T23:39:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-11T05:00:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/\"},\"wordCount\":882,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Oceans\",\"Fishing\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Greenpeace\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/\",\"name\":\"Protected corals destroyed in six-tonne bycatch \u201cdisaster\u201d from a single bottom trawl\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-10T23:39:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-11T05:00:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/59b248463b1fa04caafa6e032911145c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam.png\",\"width\":1674,\"height\":1106,\"caption\":\"Bottom trawl net full of bycatch including protected coral released under the Official Information Act\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Protected corals destroyed in six-tonne bycatch \u201cdisaster\u201d from a single bottom trawl\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/\",\"name\":\"Greenpeace Aotearoa\",\"description\":\"Our mission is to ensure Earth\u2019s ability to nurture life in all its diversity.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/59b248463b1fa04caafa6e032911145c\",\"name\":\"Emma Page\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/a\/ACg8ocKsFOjwQfOlfo7x8_p7MDCDcMaMokomDVwf6tz3p08nQq7Q6g=s96-c\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/a\/ACg8ocKsFOjwQfOlfo7x8_p7MDCDcMaMokomDVwf6tz3p08nQq7Q6g=s96-c\",\"caption\":\"Emma Page\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/author\/epage\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Protected corals destroyed in six-tonne bycatch \u201cdisaster\u201d from a single bottom trawl","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Protected corals destroyed in six-tonne bycatch \u201cdisaster\u201d from a single bottom trawl","og_description":"BREAKING: It\u2019s been revealed that a New Zealand bottom trawling vessel has pulled up six tonnes of protected stony coral in a single trawl \u2013 making it the worst reported case of coral destruction in New Zealand waters in over a decade.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/","og_site_name":"Greenpeace Aotearoa","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/greenpeace.nz","article_published_time":"2025-06-10T23:39:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-11T05:00:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":677,"url":"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam-1024x677.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Emma Page","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@GreenpeaceNZ","twitter_site":"@GreenpeaceNZ","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Emma Page","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/"},"author":{"name":"Emma Page","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/59b248463b1fa04caafa6e032911145c"},"headline":"Protected corals destroyed in six-tonne bycatch \u201cdisaster\u201d from a single bottom trawl","datePublished":"2025-06-10T23:39:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-11T05:00:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/"},"wordCount":882,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam.png","keywords":["Oceans","Fishing"],"articleSection":["Greenpeace"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/","url":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/","name":"Protected corals destroyed in six-tonne bycatch \u201cdisaster\u201d from a single bottom trawl","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam.png","datePublished":"2025-06-10T23:39:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-11T05:00:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/59b248463b1fa04caafa6e032911145c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2025\/06\/42c52af3-screenshot-2025-06-11-at-8.22.26\u202fam.png","width":1674,"height":1106,"caption":"Bottom trawl net full of bycatch including protected coral released under the Official Information Act"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/protected-corals-destroyed-in-six-tonne-bycatch-disaster-from-a-single-bottom-trawl\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Protected corals destroyed in six-tonne bycatch \u201cdisaster\u201d from a single bottom trawl"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/","name":"Greenpeace Aotearoa","description":"Our mission is to ensure Earth\u2019s ability to nurture life in all its diversity.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/59b248463b1fa04caafa6e032911145c","name":"Emma Page","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/a\/ACg8ocKsFOjwQfOlfo7x8_p7MDCDcMaMokomDVwf6tz3p08nQq7Q6g=s96-c","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/a\/ACg8ocKsFOjwQfOlfo7x8_p7MDCDcMaMokomDVwf6tz3p08nQq7Q6g=s96-c","caption":"Emma Page"},"url":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/author\/epage\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70824"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70843,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70824\/revisions\/70843"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70824"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=70824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}