Tag Archives: New Zealand Government

Fisheries plan ignores anti-bottom trawling protest

Greenpeace oceans campaigner Ellie Hooper says the new plan does nothing meaningful to address destruction of the seabed. “We see this plan as a missed opportunity to protect the ocean from the ravages of bottom trawling and truly transform commercial fishing in Aotearoa.” The draft plan, released in April, was blasted as ‘all carrot no stick’. Not so, says the Government. Announcing the final plan, Minister for Oceans Rachel Brooking said it struck a balance between looking after the ocean and making sure New Zealand had a sustainable seafood sector that can cope with the impacts of climate change. For example, the transformation plan looks at ways the industry can earn more and create more jobs without catching more fish, by utilising the whole catch in nutraceuticals and other novel uses. It also suggests the creation, incentivisation and adoption of new technology means restrictions on bottom trawling aren’t needed. >click to read< 18:17

NZ First could put the brakes on the extension of cameras on more boats, depending on outcome of election

New Zealand First has long resisted cameras, but has now agreed with Labour to extend their use. But the party’s fishing spokesperson, Shane Jones, said he would be watching the process closely to make sure it did not handicap the economy. It was important to keep earnings by the primary sector strong, for the benefit of New Zealand as a whole, he said. “The installation of cameras on fishing boats needs to driven by a robust appraisal … and careful analysis of what is the business case (for them),” he said. “In this post Covid environment it is incredibly important that revenue is delivered with gusto. >click to read< 13:50

New Zealand Government to pay up to $60 million to install cameras on commercial fishing boats

Minister of Fisheries Stuart Nash has announced a large cash investment from the Government to roll out cameras on commercial fishing vessels. The cameras will be used to monitor any breach of fishing quotas by operators. Nash said the funding would make a real difference, but defended the delay in making it happen. “This isn’t simply a matter of just about getting a go-pro and a selfie stick and away you go, we’re talking about cameras that are operating in the harshest of environment, we’re talking about up to 700G of data that has to be transferred from the boat per month, from the boat to some sort of storage site, it has to be viewed. >click to read< 20:35

New Zealand Government seizes Korean trawler – owners Taejin Fisheries Co of Busan owe 93 Indonesian crew $4.5 million in wages.

Docked in Dunedin’s inner harbour, it was valued a year ago at $1 million, but owners Taejin Fisheries Co of Busan owe 93 Indonesian crew $4.5 million in wages. Taxpayers have paid over $50,000 in berthage fees since its owners gave up on it. It has also paid to clean up the ship which became infested with rats, cockroaches and lice.  Read the rest here 16:44