Latest news with #OceansandFisheries


Scoop
2 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
PM Luxon To Host Solomon Islands Prime Minister
Rt Hon Christopher Luxon Prime Minister Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele will visit New Zealand this week, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced. 'Solomon Islands is an important partner for New Zealand, with which we share a historic connection,' Mr Luxon says. 'I am looking forward to furthering our bilateral relationship when I meet Prime Minister Manele. It will also be good to hear about Solomon Islands' plans for hosting the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in September.' More than 1,000 Solomon Islanders make New Zealand home, with 1,100 participating in the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme in the last year. New Zealand has a long-standing development cooperation partnership with Solomon Islands, which includes support for education, economic development, climate resilience, and peacebuilding. While in New Zealand, Prime Minister Manele will attend various business and community events. He will also meet Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones. Prime Minister Manele last visited New Zealand in his former capacity as Solomon Islands Foreign Minister in 2022.


Otago Daily Times
21-07-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Meeting in Karitane for public to discuss proposed mātaitai
A proposal to make a popular fishing area off the Otago Coast into an iwi-managed reserve is on the table as a way to protect the area and still allow fishing to take place. Last month, Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki applied to Fisheries New Zealand to create a 47.5sqkm mātaitai reserve extending from Cornish Head to Purehurehu Point. On August 21, there will be a public meeting at the Puketeraki Marae in Karitane to discuss the application with the community. East Otago Taiapure management committee chairman Brendan Flack said it would be "business as usual for pretty much everything". "The East Otago Taiapure was established in the 1990s, and at that time the boundaries were a little bit of a compromise ... for ease of management." Now that mapping of the area had been completed, they found certain reefs they were looking to protect were bisected by the current boundaries. "It's not really providing good protection, so it is just a matter of tidying up those boundaries." He said the mātaitai would give the opportunity to extend the area where paua was reseeded, and to be more active in removing invasive seaweed without banning recreational fishing in the same way a marine reserve would do. "This is a way of locally protecting an area and still allowing fishing to take place." The mātaitai would not change recreational fishing rules. However, there might be proposed changes later on, any of which would be consulted on with the public and relevant stakeholders, and would need to be approved by the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries. In a mātaitai, commercial fishing is generally banned, but Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki has proposed exemptions allowing certain commercial activities to take place. This includes allowing the anchoring of commercial vessels, the processing of commercially caught fish, the taking and holding of rock lobster in holding pots, the taking of paddle crab and the taking of Undaria pinnatifida (invasive seaweed). The proposal also allows the commercial taking of finfish, except for blue cod, butterfish and moki. The current boundaries of the East Otago Taiapure were too small to effectively manage non-sedentary species of sea life, and the proposed boundaries of the mātaitai would make this easier, the proposal said. Submissions from the public about the proposal were open until September 4 on the New Zealand Fisheries website. Fish Mainland director and Tautuku Fishing Club president Brett Bensemann was concerned about the proposal. He said everyone should be working together for the future of fishing, instead of "constant surprises by certain groups". "Certain groups can be anyone ... commercial, Fisheries New Zealand, iwi — we should all be communicating. "Perhaps a Otago Coast Guardians Group of representatives from all sectors should be put in place."


Scoop
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Alliance Renews Call For Bottom Trawling Ban In Hauraki Gulf
Press Release – Greenpeace Members of the Hauraki Gulf Alliance have deployed a massive 'Ban Bottom Trawling' banner on the deck of the Rainbow Warrior, demanding an end to destructive bottom trawling in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. The Alliance, which includes Forest & Bird, LegaSea and Greenpeace, has a long-running campaign to remove trawling from Hauraki Gulf and the renewed call comes as bottom trawling faces increased public scrutiny. Speaking from the Rainbow Warrior, in the Gulf, 'Heal the Hauraki' documentary producer Mandy Kupenga says: 'For too long, the practice of bottom trawling has bulldozed the rich and fragile ecosystems beneath the surface of the Hauraki Gulf. Entire ocean communities have been devastated. What happens beneath the waves doesn't stay there-when we lose biodiversity in the sea, we lose part of what sustains life on land as well. 'We cannot continue turning a blind eye. It's time to restore the mauri-the life force-of the Gulf, and honour our responsibility to future generations. Ending bottom trawling in and around the Hauraki Gulf isn't just a conservation decision. It's a moral one.' Gulf advocate Shaun Lee says the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries 'needs to listen to 97.2% of 8,909 submitters who have asked for a full ban on bottom impact fishing in the Gulf'. LegaSea spokesperson Benn Winlove says he is disappointed the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries is willing to ignore such strong public sentiment against bottom trawling. 'Public opposition to environmental destruction is growing and it's incredible that a Minister in charge of ensuring sustainability of fish populations and their habitat is willing to let bottom trawling continue in the Gulf, let alone in the Marine Park.' Bianca Ranson, campaigner from Forest & Bird, says: '97% of submitters have called for a complete ban of bottom impact fishing in the Hauraki Gulf yet the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, Shane Jones, mocks Tīkapa Moana calling it 'just a mud-stained bottom'. That is an insult to every living thing that depends on this ocean and to future generations who deserve thriving ecosystems abundant with life. Trawling rips up the seafloor turning vibrant thriving ecosystems into lifeless mud. Every year, massive weighted nets are dragged across the seafloor of Tīkapa Moana, killing all life in its path, destroying nurseries for fish, and choking the seabed in suffocating plumes of sedimentation. It's time to end bottom trawling.' Bottom trawling is a fishing method that involves dragging heavy nets over the seafloor to catch fish, stirring up sediment, releasing carbon and indiscriminately killing marine life. This is not the first time the massive banner has been used. Hundreds of people turned out to a flotilla in Auckland in 2023 to call for an end to trawling in the Gulf, while that same year a petition calling for a ban signed by nearly 37,000 people was handed into parliament.


Scoop
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Alliance Renews Call For Bottom Trawling Ban In Hauraki Gulf
Members of the Hauraki Gulf Alliance have deployed a massive 'Ban Bottom Trawling' banner on the deck of the Rainbow Warrior, demanding an end to destructive bottom trawling in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. The Alliance, which includes Forest & Bird, LegaSea and Greenpeace, has a long-running campaign to remove trawling from Hauraki Gulf and the renewed call comes as bottom trawling faces increased public scrutiny. Speaking from the Rainbow Warrior, in the Gulf, "Heal the Hauraki" documentary producer Mandy Kupenga says: "For too long, the practice of bottom trawling has bulldozed the rich and fragile ecosystems beneath the surface of the Hauraki Gulf. Entire ocean communities have been devastated. What happens beneath the waves doesn't stay there-when we lose biodiversity in the sea, we lose part of what sustains life on land as well. "We cannot continue turning a blind eye. It's time to restore the mauri-the life force-of the Gulf, and honour our responsibility to future generations. Ending bottom trawling in and around the Hauraki Gulf isn't just a conservation decision. It's a moral one." Gulf advocate Shaun Lee says the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries "needs to listen to 97.2% of 8,909 submitters who have asked for a full ban on bottom impact fishing in the Gulf". LegaSea spokesperson Benn Winlove says he is disappointed the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries is willing to ignore such strong public sentiment against bottom trawling. "Public opposition to environmental destruction is growing and it's incredible that a Minister in charge of ensuring sustainability of fish populations and their habitat is willing to let bottom trawling continue in the Gulf, let alone in the Marine Park." Bianca Ranson, campaigner from Forest & Bird, says: "97% of submitters have called for a complete ban of bottom impact fishing in the Hauraki Gulf yet the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, Shane Jones, mocks Tīkapa Moana calling it 'just a mud-stained bottom'. That is an insult to every living thing that depends on this ocean and to future generations who deserve thriving ecosystems abundant with life. Trawling rips up the seafloor turning vibrant thriving ecosystems into lifeless mud. Every year, massive weighted nets are dragged across the seafloor of Tīkapa Moana, killing all life in its path, destroying nurseries for fish, and choking the seabed in suffocating plumes of sedimentation. It's time to end bottom trawling." Bottom trawling is a fishing method that involves dragging heavy nets over the seafloor to catch fish, stirring up sediment, releasing carbon and indiscriminately killing marine life. This is not the first time the massive banner has been used. Hundreds of people turned out to a flotilla in Auckland in 2023 to call for an end to trawling in the Gulf, while that same year a petition calling for a ban signed by nearly 37,000 people was handed into parliament.


Scoop
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Aquaculture Animal Welfare Code ‘Anti-Kiwi', Oceans And Fisheries Minister Shane Jones Says
Shane Jones has ruled out the idea of a code to protect farmed fish, following SPCA calls for one., Journalist SPCA calls for an animal welfare code for aquaculture to protect farmed fish It says code would help the sector access international markets where factory farming is increasingly under scrutiny Oceans and Fisheries Minister says this would be a 'luxury' in the current economic environment Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is ruling out an animal welfare code for aquaculture, saying it is 'anti-Kiwi' and an 'indulgence'. The SPCA has called for a code to protect farmed fish, following a government plan to grow the industry's revenue to $3 billion annually by 2035. Scientific officer Marie McAninch said a code would also help give the aquaculture sector access to the sorts of international markets that land-based farmers benefit from, thanks to their animal welfare codes. 'New Zealanders care about how farmed animals are treated – and so do people overseas who buy our products. They'll expect that farmed fish in aquaculture are treated well and that their welfare meets our animal welfare laws. 'A code of welfare for aquaculture would help make that happen. But right now, New Zealand's Aquaculture Strategy – and the Aquaculture Development Strategy that Shane Jones announced in March – are both completely silent on the welfare of the animals being farmed.' Jones said he would not be considering an animal welfare code. 'Most certainly not. I think these impositions are anti-Kiwi. We are in the midst of a set of economic challenges where we must expand and grow the footprint of aquaculture. It's all going to end up [as food for] human consumption or pet consumption.' Jones said existing fish farmers already did 'a very good job' of looking after their stock. 'All of these animal husbandry businesses, there's always scope for improvement. But regulatory codes … only represent red tape and at a deeper level where does all this end? We're a small economy and a lot of these impositions are, in my view, indulgences. They're vanity projects and these debates need a clear set of contrasting views.' But McAninch said New Zealanders cared about how farmed animals were treated – and so did people overseas who bought products from New Zealand fish farms. Fish were legally recognised as sentient beings, which meant they were capable of feeling pain, stress and positive emotional states, she said. The SPCA was not against aquaculture, McAninch said. 'But we do believe it's crucial to make sure all farmed animals – and any wild animals affected by these systems – are properly protected. Our land-based farming sectors take pride in their animal welfare codes, and it's helped them with access to international markets. If the aquaculture sector doesn't plan for this now, they risk falling behind in a global environment where factory farming is increasingly under scrutiny.' Jones said he was 'the first to admit some of my views might be a bit difficult to stomach'. But animal advocates were 'on a trajectory of mission creep, and I kind of feel it's anti-Kiwi,' he said. 'I can understand that little kittens and dogs that bite children and other welfare considerations [are] an established part of rural life and our ethos, but suggesting that people growing salmon, new fish species and indeed shellfish … we already have a system through the Resource Management Act that deals with the effects of such activity.' Jones described a recent outcry by animal lovers about farming octopuses, which are sentient beings, as 'the height of this folly'. 'We need to grow industry, we don't want to impose these urban based vanity beliefs of basic industrial growth prospects.' Octopus farming was banned in the United States in Washington and California due to animal welfare concerns, and consideration of a ban is also underway in three more states. But Jones said New Zealand could not afford such 'luxury indulgences'. 'It's not something that I'm going to encourage, it's certainly not something I'm going to push forward, or agree with, at a time we have large competing objectives and other goals that I think society should set its mind upon.' The SPCA would welcome talks with the minister about how a welfare code could help ensure the aquaculture sector was sustainable and resilient, McAninch said. There is currently no code of welfare for farmed fish species, although the New Zealand Salmon Farmers Association has developed a voluntary welfare standard for farmed salmon in New Zealand. The Animal Welfare Act 1999 (the AWA) and the Code of Welfare for Commercial Slaughter applies to farmed fish and for any fish that are intended to be held or transported live. The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) has identified development of a code of welfare for farmed fish for consideration as a future priority. The Minister in charge of Animal Welfare, Associate Minister of Agriculture Andrew Hoggard said NAWAC set its own work programme and schedule for code reviews, but he had asked it to prioritise production livestock codes, and the rodeo code. 'Several of these codes have been under review for some time and the industries concerned need certainty. I expect NAWAC to deliver on those codes before turning their attention to other animal species.'