Source: Greenpeace
The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period. The bycatch deaths include 108 Salvin’s albatross, which are at high risk of extinction.
The figures from the Ministry for Primary Industries reveal that from April 2024 to March 2025, the New Zealand bottom trawling fleet dragged up over 8,300kg of protected coral, which is crucial to deep sea habitats and supports a huge range of ocean life.Over the same one-year period, 1092 seabirds, including 395 albatross, were killed by trawlers. Of those, 108 were Salvin’s albatross, a middle-sized mollyhawk which are listed as “nationally critical,” meaning they face an immediate high risk of extinction. The primary threat to Salvin’s is industrial fishing.
Just over 270 mammals also died in trawl nets. This included 25 dolphins and 239 fur seals, which are already dying in unusual numbers due to starvation, as climate change and industrial fishing put pressure on their food supply.All these figures are self-reported interactions with protected species made by fishers to MPI.
Greenpeace oceans campaigner Juan Parada calls these figures “an urgent wake-up call”.
“The New Zealand bottom trawling industry is one of the greatest threats to ocean health. Year after year, the trawling fleet bulldozes ocean ecosystems, threatens already endangered species and smashes vital coral habitats which take centuries to form”, says Parada”And while the seafood industry keeps insisting that such destruction is rare, the data shows otherwise. From the corals of the deep to the dolphins, fur seals and albatross that die as collateral damage in trawl nets every year, the cost of bottom trawling is too high.
“The government can no longer be complicit in the devastation this industry is inflicting on the oceans. We need an immediate ban on bottom trawling on seamounts and vulnerable areas, as well as a commitment to establish marine sanctuaries on the high seas before it’s too late.” “New Zealanders care deeply about the ocean and want to see it thrive. Bottom trawling is a major threat to healthy oceans, and it is time New Zealand finally abandoned this indefensible, archaic practice.” Bottom trawling is a destructive and indiscriminate fishing method that involves dragging large, heavy nets along the seafloor and over seamounts to catch fish.
