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Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is set to announce this morning that bottom trawling will be banned from large areas of the Hauraki Gulf.
The Herald understands the large-scale end to the controversial fishing practice and 19 new marine protection areas are part of a major announcement on the Hauraki Gulf by Hipkins in Auckland.
Bottom trawling involves dragging weighted nets over the seafloor in an effort to catch fish and is often a favoured method by commercial fishing companies as it can catch large quantities in one go.
Greenpeace Aotearoa and Forest & Bird held an event at Auckland’s Mission Bay in April, called “Show Your Heart for the Hauraki”, to express their opposition to bottom trawling in the marine park.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will be in Auckland today for an announcement on the Hauraki Gulf. Photo / Michael Craig
It is understood part of Hipkins’ announcement will be a tailored fisheries plan to move away from the species-by-species approach to better support the Gulf’s ecosystem.
Hipkins, accompanied by Conservation Minister Willow-Jean Prime and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Rachel Brooking, will outline fisheries and marine protection changes for the Gulf, considered a jewel in Auckland’s crown for boating, recreational, and other leisure activities.
Hipkins is expected to highlight the risk and immense pressures faced by the Hauraki Gulf and its ecosystem, including concerning declines in marine life and seabird populations, as a reason to triple the size of the marine protection area.
The 19 new marine protection areas would cover 18 per cent of the Gulf.
Last year, the Department of Conservation sought feedback on a Government proposal for 19 new marine protected areas, including 12 high protection areas, five seafloor protection areas, and extensions to the existing Cape Rodney-Okakari Point (Leigh/Goat Island) and Te Whanganui-a-Hei (Cathedral Cove) marine reserves.
The Herald understands an area to the northwest of Waiheke Island, where the proposed Hākaimingō-Matiatia Marine Reserve covering 2350ha sits, will be protected but not as a marine reserve.
A new marine protected area is expected to be announced off the northwest coast of Waiheke Island today. Photo / NZME
The Department of Conservation last year received 1293 submissions on the marine reserve, of which 1174 were in support with 88 objectors. The remainder were partially for or against it.
Scientists have long warned the Hauraki Gulf is under serious environmental stress from overfishing and pollution.
A 2020 report from the Environmental Defence Society, commissioned by the Auckland Council, warned the unique landscapes of some of the Hauraki Gulf islands are at risk from development and a “woeful” lack of planning and protection.
Last month, a report by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) for the Hauraki Gulf Forum valued the Gulf at between $40 billion and $100b and provided economic benefits worth $5b a year.
Forum co-chair Nicola MacDonald said: “Te Moananui-ā-Toi is an ancestor and a taonga. It is part of who we are.”
“At the same time, we have seen well over a century of continuous damage done to the Gulf, which is not priced and not remediated,” MacDonald said.
Bernard Orsman is an Auckland-based reporter who has been covering local government and transport since 1998. He joined the Herald in 1990 and worked in the parliamentary press gallery for six years.
