Demand more cameras on fishing boats

Help protect marine life and hold the fishing industry to account

Having cameras on-board commercial fishing boats is vital for understanding what really goes on at sea. It ensures we have an accurate picture of when protected species, such as dolphins or seabirds, are caught accidentally by commercial fishers as ‘bycatch’ - which means the Government can then make better decisions on how to protect them.

The first data from the electronic monitoring programme has revealed that fishing companies have been hugely under-reporting their catches of protected wildlife. Since the cameras were introduced, reported dolphin captures have increased by nearly 700%, while albatross interactions have more than tripled. This shows us why cameras are so essential: they are our eyes and ears out on the water, and they inform how we manage our fisheries to protect marine life.

So far, cameras are only being rolled out to up to around 250 inshore commercial fishing vessels, despite the fact our deepwater fleet harvests the majority of New Zealand’s commercial catch.

Demand cameras on ALL commercial fishing vessels to protect our marine life.

A timeline of cameras on boats

WWF-New Zealand has long campaigned for more transparency with our commercial fishing vessels to better protect the health of our ocean and wildlife.

We have been advocating for cameras to be installed on fishing boats since the idea was first floated over a decade ago and we were the only environmental organisation in New Zealand to sit on the Government’s technical advisory groups on this issue.

After much delay, a phased implementation of cameras on boats – for the first four priority groups of fishing vessels – was completed in January 2024.

The deadline for the remaining groups of vessels to have cameras installed is 28 May 2025.

The Government is currently consulting on changes to the Fisheries Act, which include proposals to exclude more fishing vessels from requiring cameras and prevent the public accessing the footage.

Protected species bycatch

‘Bycatch’ is the name given when marine animals are accidentally caught in nets and on hooks while people are fishing. Every year, many marine animals – including dolphins, sea turtles, and seabirds – die needlessly. For critically endangered seabirds like the Antipodean Albatross, fisheries bycatch is the main cause of their decline.

The first data from the cameras on boats programme revealed there had been huge under-reporting of fisheries bycatch of endangered species such as the Hector’s dolphin and Antipodean Albatross.

This led to the Government introducing stronger rules to protect Aotearoa’s threatened seabirds from the threat of bycatch. All commercial fishers using surface longline fishing methods are now required to either use special hook shielding devices or implement all three of the key seabird bycatch mitigation measures at the same time.

This was an approach WWF-New Zealand has long advocated for, and having more accurate data from the cameras on boats programme helped us to achieve this win.

Cameras on boats provide transparency and improve the reporting of protected species bycatch. This is essential for helping us better manage our commercial fisheries and the threats to our native species, and ensuring the public have confidence that our marine environment is being used sustainably.