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The Warkworth Gamefish Club is calling on Fisheries NZ to take a serious look at the condition of snapper in the Hauraki Gulf and Bream Bay.
Club delegate Terry Creagh says the fish are starving.
“Snapper with white mushy flesh have been a hot topic over BBQs, bait boards and beers for some time,” Creagh says.
“In search of answers, LegaSea lodged an Official Information Act request last December and Fisheries New Zealand responded last month.
“Their analysis showed that the fish are safe for human consumption but, alarmingly, the main cause points to chronic starvation.”
Creagh maintains that destructive commercial fishing techniques and environmental degradation are compounding the problem. This is resulting in the large-scale depletion of important food sources that have historically sustained snapper and other finfish populations.
“Fishers are used to seeing ‘spent’ fish after the snapper spawning in spring. The fish normally take a few months to recover. What is unusual now is that people have been catching mushy fleshed snapper since before the spawning season. Now, coming into winter when the fish should be in good condition, there are still lots of mushy fish about.
“It’s shocking that the evidence points to the fact our snapper are literally starving. If we want snapper populations to increase we need to start by protecting the food sources. And, we must start paying attention to the signals that our marine ecosystems are collapsing.
“The results are particularly concerning because snapper are an incredibly hardy species that eat almost anything. The Hauraki Gulf used to be one of the most productive marine environments but years of dredging, bottom trawling, and land based runoff have destroyed shellfish beds, crab and seabed populations. These are vital species which are important food sources for a variety of fish, sea birds, and marine mammals.”
LegaSea lead Sam Woolford says the first step starts with the removal of bottom trawling, scallop dredging and Danish seining fishing methods that cause damage to habitats and marine species.
“In the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, people currently have the opportunity to remove these damaging fishing methods,” Woolford says.
“If we show the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries that we’re a united front on this issue, we’re confident we can get them out once and for all. Please, if you haven’t already, sign and share the petition calling for an end to all bottom trawling and dredging in the gulf.”
The petition can be found here: haurakigulfalliance.nz/petition/
