WWF-New Zealand, Forest & Bird, and Greenpeace Aotearoa today united outside Parliament to present MPs with an open letter and petitions signed by more than 30,000 concerned members of the public.
The Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill – which will have its second reading in Parliament today – is the result of over a decade of work by local communities, tangata whenua and interest groups to protect the health and mauri of this biodiversity hotspot on Auckland’s doorstep.
Last month it was revealed the Government would be making last-minute changes to allow a type of fishing known as ring-netting to take place in two of the new ‘high protection areas’ – zones which had been explicitly designed to exclude both commercial and recreational fishing and provide a safe haven for marine life to recover.
WWF-New Zealand’s CEO, Dr Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, says the Government needs to listen to the clear signals it is being sent by the New Zealand public and reverse this rash decision.
“It is a complete disgrace that Ministers are willing to undermine a decade of collaborative work by the community to entertain sleazy, backdoor lobbying from a few industry players. This is a betrayal of Aucklanders and sets a dangerous precedent for the future of marine protection in Aotearoa.
“We implore the Prime Minister to listen to the clear concern we’re seeing from the tens of thousands of New Zealanders who want to reverse the decline of the Hauraki Gulf now and for future generations.”
Forest & Bird’s Hauraki Gulf spokesperson Bianca Ranson says, “Support for protection of Tikapa Moana has been a decade in the making and has massive support from people drawn from all walks of life. Today should be a good news story - a celebration of a wonderful step forward for the people of Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf. Instead, this last-minute amendment risks undermining the purpose of high protection by allowing commercial fishing.
“The Prime Minister knows first-hand how important the Gulf is to the people of Auckland. It's not too late for the government to do the right thing and listen to the tens of thousands of New Zealanders who love the Gulf and want to see it protected.”
Greenpeace Aotearoa oceans campaigner Juan Parada says, “We’re here today to tell the Luxon-led Government that commercial fishing has no place in supposedly high protection marine areas that are meant to provide a critical safe haven for marine life from fish to dolphins and seabirds.
“Decades of exploitation, including ongoing bottom trawling, have brought Tīkapa Moana - The Hauraki Gulf to the brink of ecological collapse. Now is not the time to further weaken protection measures by bowing to fishing industry pressure.”
Sally Paterson, Chief Executive of Live Ocean Foundation says, "After decades of dedicated work by many and unanimous approval by the Environment Select Committee, this Bill represents a monumental step forward for a Gulf on the brink of ecological collapse. However, the last-minute Cabinet amendments allowing commercial fishing within High Protection Areas (HPAs) undermine the very purpose they exist - to protect marine ecosystems and vulnerable species and to allow for recovery.
“With only 6.3% of the Gulf designated as HPAs, while 93.7% remains open to fishing, we urge Cabinet to reconsider. This important and historic Bill offers the best, perhaps the last chance to halt the decline of the Gulf.”
MPs from a range of political parties were present on Thursday morning to meet the environmental groups and receive the open letter and petitions.
Speakers included National Party MP for Northland, Grant McCallum; Green Party Co-Leader and Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick; Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Infrastructure and RMA Reform and Act Party List MP, Simon Court; and Labour Party MP for Palmerston North, Tangi Utikere.
The Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill aims to restore the health of the Gulf by extending two marine reserves and establishing five new Seafloor Protection Areas and 12 High Protection Areas.
Successive State of the Gulf reports have painted a picture of an ecosystem on the brink of collapse.
Overfishing, habitat loss, pollution, sedimentation, and the effects of poorly planned urban development have led to a 57% decline in key fish stocks in the Hauraki Gulf, a 67% decline in seabirds, and a 97% decline in whales and dolphins. Crayfish populations and scallop populations are now functionally extinct in some areas.
In June, the Environment Select Committee agreed unanimously the Bill should be taken forward with no substantive changes to the high protection areas.