The CEO of WWF says that New Zealand has protected less than one percent of its oceans. That's not true says the CEO of Seafood New Zealand. Who's right?
There are some facts you think must be indisputable. Seafood New Zealand (that's us) says that Aotearoa can be proud of the fact that we have more than 30% of our oceans in marine protection. WWF says no we don't.
How can there be a disagreement about something that seems so simple and easy to check? How did this argument start? And why does it matter?
Firstly, it matters because New Zealand has signed up to an ambitious goal - to protect 30% of its ocean by 2030. That goal was a focus of the recently released - Ocean with David Attenborough. The film is visually stunning, powerful and emotional and it makes a compelling case against destructive fishing and for marine protected areas, designed to give the ocean time and space to recover.
Most of the small team at Seafood New Zealand have seen the film. We are all fans of Sir David Attenborough. We would like him to know that there is good news from Aotearoa. We have made great strides in marine protection, in fact we are already at the 30% target, something we discussed publicly on our website last week.
The biggest chunk of protection in Kiwi waters is our Benthic Protection Areas (BPA). These cover more than 30% of our Exclusive Economic Zone and they have been in place since 2007. They prohibit bottom contact fishing inside those zones - you can be fined and have your vessel taken away if you break the rules.
Kayla from WWF appears to be claiming that this doesn't count. Perhaps she wants "no take" protections, which means no type of fishing whatsoever. But this is shifting the argument away from apparent concern about the health of the bottom of the sea, to what we see as a brutally anti-fishing stance.
So who gets to decide what counts? Is there an international authority that can settle this argument? Well, how about two? Firstly, there's the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (the IUCN). Secondly you can check out the UN Environment Programme's World Database of Protected Areas. Their globally accepted standards recognise that marine protection comes in different forms including Benthic Protection Areas. New Zealand's BPAs appear on the database. So that settles it - our BPAs are recognised internationally.
The second you start using acronyms (sorry about that) you are in technical territory that is, frankly, pretty boring to most people. And there is a risk this starts to sound like a pedantic argument in the margins, when New Zealanders want to know that we are focused on protecting our moana and fishing in a truly sustainable way.
That's fair.
So here are some more numbers for you. The Ministry for Primary Industries says that its science shows that 87.7% of fish stocks of known status are in good shape and 97.6% of our fish landings by weight are from stocks that are sustainable.
In addition, records show that bottom contact fishing happens in less than 3% of New Zealand waters each year.
Whilst these facts speak for themselves, we know we're not perfect. For example, we have been working hard at reducing bycatch of marine mammals and birds. This includes kiwi fishers getting involved in adapting existing fishing gear or inventing new types that can dramatically lower this type of bycatch. We are seeing promising results.
We are constantly striving for better outcomes for our oceans and all that thrives within them. No one in the seafood industry is slapping themselves on the back and saying "our work here is done." We are ready and willing to talk about what comes next.
Why do we do this work? The overarching goal is to treat our oceans with respect. To ensure that we have thriving seas and thriving people. To achieve this requires responsiveness and collaboration. We ask simply that New Zealand's commercial fishing industry is recognised for the good work it has already done, the progress made and the desire for constant improvement into the future. Credit where credit is due. And we will go on innovating and investing in lightening our impact so that New Zealand can continue to be out in front.
