View the draft plan and make a submission via the Ministry for Primary Industries’ website here.
The closing date for submissions is Sunday 11 June 2023
Some points you could make:
- We want a fishing industry that we can be proud of, but New Zealand is one of the heaviest users of bottom trawling in the world. We are also the only country still bottom trawling in the South Pacific international waters. Why doesn't the plan set a deadline to transition away from bottom trawling?
- The transformation plan talks about ‘fishing with care and precision’ - but bottom trawling is the exact opposite of care and precision. The government needs to put an end date to bottom trawling to encourage the industry to innovate and switch to alternative methods of fishing.
- We agree that all industries should reduce carbon emissions. The ocean is our greatest ally against climate change because of the carbon it stores and the heat it has absorbed. But that carbon sink relies on keeping the ocean full of life and not trawling up the seabed. Banning bottom trawling would help to reduce climate change and biodiversity loss.
- The plan proposes giving government money from taxpayers to the fishing industry to buy new vessels to replace their ageing fleet. It doesn't rule out that this money might include subsidising new trawlers. We're facing climate change, biodiversity loss and a cost of living crisis - that's about the last thing our taxes should be spent on.
Attend a public meeting
Time for extra action to protect our oceans? You could also attend an upcoming meeting to ask questions, and help demonstrate public interest in this issue. Public meetings coming up are:
Questions? Email [email protected]