We need to see the challenges in the Hauraki Gulf from more than one side, so we can work together to fix the real problems it faces. This week, we bring you two different experiences of what's happening in the Hauraki Gulf from two of our people: Seafood New Zealand CEO Lisa Futschek and our GM of Inshore, Tiff Bock.
Lisa's View - Working with the Gulf's Feathered Fishers
As I balanced prostrate and somewhat precariously on a steep, mossy, forest bank, and tentatively reached my leather-gloved hand into a dark hole in the hillside, I was grateful not to have to worry about snakes, spiders or lizards at the other end. I jumped as I felt the sudden, sharp clamp of a beak around my index finger, closed my other fingers around it and, as instructed, "walked it out" slowly but firmly. Before I knew it, I was holding a black petrel in my two hands! Even better, the burrow had an egg inside, so after the petrel's band had been checked and recorded, it was placed straight back inside to continue incubating its chick to be.
It was revelatory to spend two days and two nights last week on Aotea / Great Barrier Island observing and participating in the tākoketai / black petrel research and conservation work undertaken by Biz Bell and her team at Wildlife Management International Limited. The black petrel is endemic to New Zealand, and Great Barrier and Little Barrier Islands host the only breeding colonies of black petrels in the world. Predators (feral cats and pigs) caused their extinction on the mainland from the 1950s and as a threatened species they are classified as "vulnerable".
Biz's longitudinal study into tākoketai / black petrels has been running for 29 years. Tracking data reveals that these birds travel thousands of kilometers and forage over a wide area, including the waters off the coasts of Central and South America, returning exclusively to Tīkapa Moana / Hauraki Gulf to breed.
It was encouraging to hear Biz talking about the commitment of fishers to black petrel conservation efforts. Many fishers have participated in Biz's advocacy programmes over the years, coming away with a strong appreciation for mitigation measures and what to do if an accidental interaction does occur. How to handle, untangle and wrangle petrels is a practical focus of the education Biz imparts. She also notes the critical importance of reporting back the band numbers of any petrel mortalities, as doing so provides valuable data into her long-run study.
It's easy to become invested in protecting these birds when you experience them up close. And Biz spoke of a particular "light-bulb moment" for fishers on appreciating that the black petrels are fishers too and can pass on valuable tips about the best spots to fish!
Thank you Biz and Southern Seabirds Trust for this wonderful opportunity!
Tiff's View - The Gulf is People Too
I've been working with New Zealand fishers for many years. Firstly in my former role at the Ministry for Primary Industries and lately as a representative for New Zealand's inshore fishers.
Our fishers face multiple pressures. There are the financial pressures that are felt particularly by the smaller operators who don't have large, diversified businesses. There are the pressures caused by having a lot of complex regulation to comply with. And there are the pressures from outside - harassment and abuse directed at them from members of the public who don't actually understand fishing and think, wrongly, we are not sustainable.
This sort of feeling has come to a head in the Hauraki Gulf where we fish alongside many hundreds of recreational fishers and where misinformation has flourished about what the actual problems are facing the Gulf.
The big problems are pollution, sedimentation and runoff, climate change and (as Lisa mentions in her story) for our seabirds, predators have been a serious issue. That's not to say that commercial fishing is trouble-free - we know what we can do better, and we are working on it relentlessly - but it's a question of proportion and perspective.
In terms of perspective, what is not a problem is five ring net fishers being given an exception to allow them to carry on fishing in areas of the Gulf that will become protected under new legislation. You might think it was an issue, given the heat and noise you could read about in the media, but actually it's a distraction.
I understand the unhappiness of some people with the proposed exception. It feels to them like a process has been undermined after years of effort. But think about it from the perspective of these five fishers for a moment. They had no input to the long development process and, for various technical reasons, their information wasn't made available to the decision makers. No one took them into account. The impact on them wasn't considered. If they were kicked out of the fishing grounds, their livelihoods would be undermined or even destroyed.
The argument against these fishers has been contradictory. Firstly that big bad commercial fishing is going to ruin everything and then also that the fish being caught in these areas is such a small amount it's not worth it. Actually, both things are true. It is a small amount and it is worth it.
Imagine being told you are going to be put out of business. So you talk to your local politicians and tell the story that doesn't appear in the "official database". They agree with you and make amendments to recognise the importance of what you do for the communities. Then the misinformation starts, the bullying of you and your kids, intimidation at boat ramps (your place of work), and the relentless media about how you are going to ruin the health of the Hauraki Gulf and you're a bad person for wanting to have a business supplying locally caught fish.
It's painful to see the way these guys are being talked about. It's more painful for them and their families experiencing it.
How about we take a different perspective. Let's go after the real issues - pollution, runoff, sedimentation. And yes, climate change. These are the big bads. They are hard to fight and we need to all work together to have a chance.
To the people attacking these fishers based on misinformation or misunderstanding, let's try something different. Let's try compassion. Let's try looking after local communities. Let's try pragmatism, realism and just transitions for the individuals who are having their lives upended by decisions driven by those with nothing to lose.
