Greenpeace has launched a fresh petition calling on Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones to ban bottom trawling, scallop dredging, and Danish seining across the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. The campaign argues that a century of seabed damage from mobile bottom-contact fishing has pushed the Gulf to the brink.
“To turn things around, we’ve got to protect the whole area from bottom trawl fishing methods, and allow this unique marine ecosystem to recover,” the petition states.
As of this week, more than 12,000 people had signed. The target is 30,000.
This latest push follows a long-running campaign by the Hauraki Gulf Alliance and others. In 2023, more than 36,000 signatures were delivered to Parliament. That same year, hundreds of people took part in a protest flotilla off Mission Bay, calling for a full ban on bottom-impact fishing methods in the Marine Park.
The 2023 State of Our Gulf report described the area as being “on the brink of collapse” and identified bottom trawling as the most destructive fishing method still in use in the Gulf.
While the previous government proposed a compromise that would allow trawling in designated “corridors,” Greenpeace and other groups say that falls far short of what’s needed. A 2022 survey cited by the group found that 84 percent of New Zealanders support a total ban on bottom trawling in the Gulf.
“There is no place in a precious marine park for destructive bottom trawling,” said Greenpeace oceans campaigner Juan Parada. “It’s time to act, and act decisively.”
Forest & Bird’s Bianca Ranson criticised Minister Jones for referring to the Gulf as “just a mud-stained bottom,” calling the comment “an insult to every living thing that depends on this ocean.”
The petition calls for a full ban on all forms of mobile bottom-contact fishing within the boundaries of the Marine Park. It can be signed at greenpeace.org.nz or via the Hauraki Gulf Alliance website.
