Source: Greenpeace
News that progress on the Fisheries Amendment Bill will be delayed until after the election is being called a win for People Power by environmental groups, who say it proves how united the New Zealand public is against destructive fishing.
On Thursday, it was announced to the Select Committee that the Bill will not be progressed within this political term. This comes after tens of thousands of New Zealanders submitted against the Bill, and weeks of hearings in Parliament.
Minister Shane Jones championed the Bill that would introduce the largest changes to fisheries legislation in a generation. Greenpeace and allies say the delay is the result of mass public outcry from ordinary New Zealanders, recreational fishers, legal experts and environmentalists.
“The people of New Zealand have made it abundantly clear they want more ocean protection, not less. Thanks to all of the people who spoke out against this Ocean Exploitation Bill, it’s not getting rubber stamped ahead of the election,” says Greenpeace oceans campaigner Ellie Hooper.
“This Bill is not dead in the water, but the delay is a clear sign that some political parties are starting to listen. Ocean protection is what voters want and they are watching. They don’t want empty platitudes from politicians about how important the ocean is, if they are unwilling to do what’s in their power to stop its depletion.”
Karli Thomas of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC) says the Bill would take New Zealand ocean management further in completely the wrong direction, especially on bottom trawling.
“The Fisheries Amendment Bill would incentivise this most destructive form of fishing – bottom trawling – at a time when the public are overwhelmingly calling for it to be restricted, especially from seamounts.
“It would reduce public participation in fisheries decisions, prevent access to cameras on boats footage, and make it almost impossible for the public to challenge bad decision-making. It’s the opposite of what New Zealanders want and what our ocean needs to thrive.”
Polling released by WWF this week revealed that 90% of people wanted to see bottom trawling restrictions in some form. Barry Weeber, co-chair of ECO, says the can has been kicked down the road on this issue long enough.
“The devastating impacts of bottom trawling on vital seamounts and other high biodiversity areas are well established, and the public mandate for closing them has never been higher. Political leaders should state their position and make firm commitments to banning bottom trawling on seamounts and similar features ahead of the election.
“The ocean cannot afford more years of delay in protections. We know seamount ecosystems are vulnerable and important, and there is plenty of evidence to act to protect them.”
A coalition of environmental groups are calling for political parties to commit to banning bottom trawling on all seamounts and features in the waters of Aotearoa and the South Pacific – where New Zealand is the last country to operate a bottom trawl fleet. To date over 100,000 people have signed petitions on the issue.
The groups maintain the Ocean Exploitation Bill should be rejected in its entirety, before its next reading in the new political term.