New Zealand: Calls for ban on bottom trawling in Hauraki Gulf

Advocates have renewed calls for a ban on bottom trawling after Newshub exclusively revealed an increasing number of snapper caught in the Hauraki Gulf are suffering from starvation. Newshub revealed on Monday snapper caught in the Hauraki Gulf are in poor condition and have flaky, white fillets. They are distinctively different to the firm and almost translucent fillets most are used to, according to Biosecurity New Zealand documents. Hauraki Gulf advocate and Forest and Bird spokesperson Bianca Ranson told AM on Tuesday there are many issues in the Hauraki Gulf but stressed bottom trawling needs to stop as the alarm bells are already ringing. "Overfishing is definitely one of the main causes and with the draft fisheries plan that has recently been out for consultation, we are really hoping that the submissions are taken really seriously," Ranson told AM co-host Melissa Chan-Green. "We need to see an end to bottom trawling within the Hauraki Gulf and bottom contact fishing, which ...