5pm deadline for LegaSea snapper survey, concerning news for our marine environment, more support for an Inquiry.
The future of our snapper – LegaSea survey closes at 5pm today.
Here’s something you can do to help better inform the Ministry for Primary Industries and the policy makers: take this survey on snapper and let them know what you think.
Since our 2013 Save Our Snapper campaign a mixed group of fishing representatives and the Ministry have developed a draft Snapper 1 management plan.
The survey, which has been running for a week, is designed to find out what you think about some of the key issues.
Preliminary results
So far over 2300 people have expressed support for the proposed stock rebuild target, and for 3 smaller areas within Snapper 1 so more localised management strategies can be applied.
At the other end of the scale there is strong opposition to both trawling inshore, with the 100m depth contour, and the recommendation to wait until at least 2022 before any management changes are made.
Your survey answers will be summarised along with other feedback. We’ll let you know the results as soon as they have been collated. A summary will also be given to the Ministry so they can understand how you feel about the future management of our snapper.
Snapper survey
Serious concerns for us and our surrounding seas
The latest information on seabird and mammal mortality is pretty shocking stuff and goes right to the heart of what we’ve been saying about the marine environment.
The Ministry of the Environment and Statistics New Zealand have completed their first national report into the marine environment and wildlife. They found that 90% of seabird species are under threat – the highest number in the world. On top of that, more than a quarter of marine mammals are at risk, and while ocean warming and acidification are top of the list for who to blame, overfishing and bycatch are both critical factors in the health of our oceans.
The Ministry will report every six months on this and LegaSea will keep a close eye on the results.
We’ve seen the effects overfishing can have on the environment, everything from the destruction of the seabed and the loss of habitat through to the “functional extinction” of crayfish in our waters.
It’s not acceptable and it has to stop but we can’t do it without your help.
Share the story links with your friends and family and encourage them to sign up with LegaSea. There is an election coming next year and together we can make better management of our marine environment a make or break issue.
Stuff – 90 per cent of New Zealand sea birds at risk of extinction – report
NewsHub – Marine environment report highlights lack of data
RNZ – NZ oceans deteriorating, marine wildlife threatened
MfE – Our marine environment 2016
LegaSea – Join the Team
Even more support for an Inquiry
LegaSea is still calling for a Commission of Inquiry into the Quota Management System (QMS) because the current regime clearly doesn’t work and the review that’s being undertaken by the Ministry is all about rearranging the deck chairs and won’t address the core issues.
A full Commission of Inquiry is needed for matters that are complex, involve industry capture of the science and of the Ministry tasked with overseeing the industry and when a matter of public interest is at stake. The future of our marine environment, our right to go fishing and the need for an abundant fisheries is all up for grabs and it’s vital that we act now. In a decade’s time it will be too late. We have to act now.
LegaSea – Commission of Inquiry into QMS
LegaSea – Blatant dumping – no rebuild
