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At least 20 fishing, environmental and community groups, many of them local, were in Auckland last month to make submissions to a parliamentary environment select committee on the Hauraki Gulf /Tikapa Moana Marine Protection Bill.
The Bill’s proposals include extending the marine reserve at Cape Rodney – Okakari Point (Goat Island), bringing in five new seafloor protection areas where trawling would be banned and 12 new high protection areas, which include parts of the ocean at Te Hauturu-o-Toi – Little Barrier Island, Kawau Bay, Tiritiri Matangi and the Mokohīnau Islands.
However, many people believe the protection proposals do not go far enough, since they would still allow commercial fishing in special ‘trawl corridors’ designated by Fisheries NZ, including unpopular and destructive methods such as bottom trawling and dredging.
One such speaker was Terry Creagh, of Ōrewa, who addressed the select committee twice as representative of several organisations, including the NZ Sport Fishing Council, the NZ Marine Research Foundation and the Warkworth Game Fishing Club.
“Our concern is that the proposed Hauraki Gulf Marine Bill does not go far enough, as 100 percent of the Hauraki Gulf should be designated a sea floor protection area,” he said.
“Mobile bottom contact fishing is the primary culprit in the decline of biodiversity, productivity and health of the marine park, yet the Bill still allows such destructive methods to continue.”
Creagh said the proposed high protection areas did not address the underlying causes of depletion and loss of biodiversity, and those proposed for Kawau Bay and Tiritiri Matangi in particular would lead to little discernible drop in commercial fishing, while forcing recreational fishers out into more open water, causing safety concerns.
Creagh said there should be a special management area for these two locations instead, and said a community-led, holistic approach should be pursued, such as Ahu Moana, which combines mātauranga Māori and local knowledge with scientific data.
“Officials proposing tools that permit Māori customary fishing, while prohibiting all other sections of the community from fishing, will cause major friction and incidents, which need not happen, as we are all New Zealanders wanting to fish to feed our families,” he said.
“Ahu Moana is a viable alternative that promotes community-based solutions to address protection and enhance marine life, encouraging mana whenua and local communities to work together, instead of dividing them.”
Other submitters included the Kawau Island Residents and Ratepayers Association, which said the Kawau Bay high protection area should exclude South Cove or, at least, give its residents permissions “for continued access and safe sustainable fishing close to home”.
The Bill will have its second reading later this year.
