The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) hails a Waikato Regional Council decision to prohibit destructive bottom-contact fishing methods from most of the eastern Waikato coastal marine area.
“This is a landmark moment for marine protection in the Waikato region,” says EDS Chief Operating Officer and environmental lawyer Shay Schlaepfer.
“It follows uncontested scientific evidence that bottom trawling, dredging and Danish seining causes extensive and often irreversible damage to seabed ecosystems. These practices are the single largest source of physical disturbance in the Waikato coastal marine area – flattening complex habitats, killing benthic species, and fundamentally altering the structure of seabed communities.
“Regional councils have a clear responsibility under the Resource Management Act to control the effects of these fishing activities on the environment to maintain indigenous biodiversity.
“The decision by the Waikato Regional Council delivers on that statutory imperative.
“It comes as central Government processes to manage bottom trawling in the Gulf have stalled. In that vacuum, the Waikato regional planning process has stepped up to deliver real biodiversity gains.
“The decision ensures that the high-value benthic biodiversity of the eastern Waikato coastal marine area can now be protected from destructive fishing practices, creating space for marine ecosystems to flourish.
“The ban was recommended by an independent expert panel after hearing extensive submissions led by EDS on the Proposed Waikato Regional Coastal Plan. The Council has accepted that recommendation which, subject to appeals, must now be approved by the Minister of Conservation. That must occur within a reasonable timeframe.
“Any attempt to legislate over this decision would be a flagrant disregard of uncontested scientific evidence and a clear signal that the Government is not serious about recognising and managing environmental harm. EDS expects that it will be upheld and finally approved,” concluded Ms Schlaepfer.