Govt seeks ban on high seas bottom trawling

The Government is seeking a moratorium on bottom trawling on the high seas outside areas where competent Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) existed or were under negotiation.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters, Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton, and Conservation Minister Chris Carter said they would seek the support of other nations at regional meetings and at the United Nations General Assembly.

Mr Anderton said such a measure would exclude bottom trawling from about a third of the world's high seas. He said the government was also advocating that RFMOs should institute strong conservation measures to protect vulnerable ecosystems such as seamounts by 2008.

He said New Zealand had a very good system of management within its own EEZ that ensured fisheries would remain sustainable and that environmental issues were addressed. “We already have some sea floor areas protected from bottom trawling and dredging. Our position on bottom trawling in the high seas is a further example of New Zealand's commitment to being a responsible fishing nation.”

Winston Peters said effective management in international waters could best be delivered through international agreements negotiated through RFMOs or through the United Nations. “Since 2004, New Zealand has been prepared to support, in principle, the concept of an interim global moratorium on bottom trawling on the high seas, if such a proposal had sufficient global support to be practical and enforceable.”

"To date such support appears limited, so the best protection mechanism we have are RFMOs,” Mr Peters said.

---

If you have any news or events coming up that you'd like covered
in an issue of Te Tai Pari, drop us an email at

Tiakina ngā rawa hi ika, a tātou kaimoana mo ngā uri whakaheke
Protecting Māori fisheries assets for future generations

---