The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) welcomes today’s decision by Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones to close most of the CRA1 rock lobster fishery along Northland’s east coast.
The recreational daily catch for the entire CRA 1 fishery will now be limited to two per person per day, with a nationwide catch limit on packhorse rock lobsters set at three per person per day.
Minister Jones has previously closed the inner Hauraki Gulf (CRA2 fishery), to rock lobster harvesting and today’s decision also extends that closure area up to Te Ārai Point.
“Today’s decision is a vital further move in restoring severely degraded reef ecosystems,” said EDS Policy Director and Oceans expert Raewyn Peart.
“Rock lobsters play a critical ecological role as predators of kina. Their depletion has allowed kina populations to explode, stripping reefs of kelp and turning once-productive underwater forests into ecological deserts.
“Recent mapping has revealed extensive kina barrens across Northland’s rocky reefs. Closing most of the rock lobster fishery is a necessary intervention if we are serious about reversing this damage.
“Large rock lobsters are the only species in Aotearoa known to prey on long-spined sea urchins – a subtropical species that can graze deeper than kina and has the capacity to wipe out entire kelp forests, including those beyond kina depth limits. Protecting and rebuilding populations of large rock lobster is therefore critical for halting this loss.
“The closure must now be backed by serious investment in active restoration, particularly in high-value areas such as the Bay of Islands, the heart of Northland’s marine tourism economy. This can be kick-started by urchin removal similar to what is proposed in the Hauraki Gulf. This will provide jobs, and help rebuild the environment and the economy which is reliant on it, in an area badly in need of new investment,” concluded Ms Peart.