Photo by Fred Southerwood

Kia ora Friend,

It may not be the busiest time for catching fish on the water in this mid-winter cold snap, but there's lots going on with our fisheries.

Public consultation on the draft Industry Transformation Plan closed on Sunday. Thanks to all of you that took the time to make a submission. 2800 submissions were made using the LegaSea website. With a loud public voice against it, surely the Minister will think twice about committing millions of dollars to build new industrial fishing boats.

The fate of the Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan is also due to be decided by the Minister soon and a parliamentary select committee is also scrutinising the future of seabed mining in New Zealand. You can read further details below.

With a ministry seemingly focused on harvesting as many of our fish as possible at the expense of our marine environment, it's more important than ever that the public's voice is heard. Politicians are ultimately responsible for all of these decisions and while they are advised and manipulated by ministry officials, they will listen to the public's voice if there is one.

So please, take the time to make your voice heard when we need you. Whether it's a petition or a submission, or a letter to your MP, it does make a difference.

LegaSea and Phoenix Metalman at Field days

The LegaSea team have ventured down to Hamilton this week to share a stand with our platinum partner Phoenix Metalman. We've set up a station inside their stall and have a great little competition running. All you need to do is guess the number of cans in an aluminium bale to win a tasty little rod and reel set up from our pals at Okuma NZ.

If you are in the area, head on down and get amongst it! Don't forget your redbands and a Swanni as Fieldays is historically a very chilly event.  

100% Kōparepare - Friday deadline!

Time's running out to get your Kõparepare order in. This week only all revenue from the sale of Kõparepare wines is coming directly to LegaSea to help us with our mahi. With delivery costs included, it's almost too good to be true! But orders need to be in by midnight Friday.

So if you like good wine and you would like to help us in our efforts to restore our fishers and the marine environment, you should order your wine right now!

The Fishing Industry Transformation Plan 

A plan to transform the commercial fishing industry from using broken down ageing vessels into modern, high powered trawlers has been trashed by environmental and fishing interest groups. 

"LegaSea has collaborated with a number of other organisations to develop an alternative transformation plan that envisages more local, artisanal fishing supporting regional economies rather than relying on bigger trawlers to catch our fish," says Sam Woolford, LegaSea Project Lead. 

"True transformation starts with more fish in the water. More abundance and a healthier marine environment means we could have thriving businesses supporting both commercial and recreational fisheries. Surely that's got to be good for our coastal towns." 

Recently, Fisheries New Zealand (FNZ) released a Fisheries Industry Transformation Plan setting out a vision for the next decade of commercial fishing. But, the plan does not include any moves toward banning destructive fishing methods such as bottom trawling.

In June the combined groups of LegaSea, the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council, New Zealand Angling & Casting Association and New Zealand Underwater jointly submitted in rejecting the FNZ plan. In part, because FNZ expects the public to invest a minimum of 46 million taxpayer dollars in replacing the ageing fishing fleet with larger, more powerful fishing vessels - including new trawlers. This is not what transformation looks like. Read the joint submission here.

Seabed mining inquiry - sign the petition

Currently, the Parliamentary Environmental Select Committee is holding an inquiry into the future of seabed mining in New Zealand. Seabed mining is extremely destructive through the damage it does to the seafloor and the massive plumes of silt it creates are spread far and wide, destroying ecosystems and fish habitats. 

 In the works are permit applications for mining off the South Taranaki Coast and there is a current exploratory permit off Waihi Beach in the Bay of Plenty. Mining in these areas could be catastrophic for local communities.

We need to show the Select Committee that Kiwis are wholeheartedly against the continuation of seabed mining in New Zealand waters. Please take the time to show your opposition by signing the Kiwis Against Seabed Mining (KASM) petition here.

You can find out more about the inquiry and make your own submission by clicking here. 

Submission deadline is 11.59pm on Friday, 23 June 2023.

Hauraki Gulf update

The Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan is about to be sent to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Rachel Brooking, for final approval. As it stands, the plan will allow the continuation of bottom trawling and scallop dredging. We believe it's a lost opportunity to finally remove these destructive fishing methods from the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.

Our only hope is that the Minister will be brave enough to stand up against Fisheries New Zealand officials and refuse to allow trawling and dredging in the Gulf to continue.

To help her make this courageous decision we want to show the minister that the public support a ban on these methods. We will be presenting the Hauraki Gulf Alliance petition to the Minister in the next couple of weeks. 

So, if you haven't signed the petition to ban bottom trawling and scallop dredging from the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, please take 30 seconds to show her that Kiwis want bottom trawling and scallop dredging gone from the Gulf now.

Sign the petition!

Waiheke Kōura survey 

This year we took part in the third annual kōura survey, organised and led by the Waiheke Marine Project  and Ngāti Pāoa. Each year, teams of divers and skippers volunteer their weekends to survey the abundance and distribution of crayfish around the northern area of Waiheke.

The survey is crucial in getting good local data to support the longevity of the rāhui established in 2021. The information also contributes to the knowledge of Waiheke's reef ecosystems. This year we wanted to get some of our valued partners out of the office and into the water. Giving them a hands-on opportunity to support efforts of rebuilding the abundance of inshore fisheries.

--

Ngā mihi nui,

Benn and the LegaSea crew

LegaSea appreciates the ongoing support of our Platinum and Gold partners -

If you no longer wish to receive these emails unsubscribe