4 April 2007- Wellington

Forest & Bird media release for immediate use

Fishing industry gets $2.4 million subsidy for ‘giving up’ nothing

The fishing industry has convinced the Government to give it an unfair $2.4 million break on fishing levies in return for agreeing not to destroy the seabed in areas where the industry never had any intention of bottom trawling.

The proposal that the fishing industry will not destroy the seabed in 17 areas covering 30 percent of the EEZ is not nearly as good as the industry or the Government are claiming, according to Forest & Bird Advocacy Manager, Kevin Hackwell.

“The fishing industry will be getting something for nothing because they currently do not bottom trawl in these areas. They have been very careful to ‘give up’ only areas where they have no intention of bottom trawling in future.”

“They have also been very careful to retain the right to catch fish above the seabed in these areas. The only constraint will be that their nets must not touch the seabed itself.”

“In return for these so-called ‘concessions’ the industry will pay $2.4 million less in levies for research into the impact of their present bottom trawling of large areas of the ocean floor.”

“Forest & Bird sees no logical reason why the fishing industry should not continue to pay the full cost to understand the impact of the environmental damage they cause.”

“The proposal provides a great opportunity for the industry to engage in green-washing. Already the Seafood Industry Council has described the proposal as the world’s “largest marine conservation area”. This is a claim that Forest & Bird contests.”

“Most people would assume that there would be no fishing allowed in a “marine conservation area”, but this isn’t the case with the proposal. The fishing industry will still be allowed to fish in these areas, which can hardly be described as marine conservation.”

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