Fisheries Minister Shane Jones calls for review of coral boundaries to avoid fishing bans

A fishing vessel in New Zealand caught 15kg of coral, more than twice the legal amount, triggering a ban in the Tasman Sea. (file photo)
Photograph: greenpeace

Shane Jones wants international coral boundaries to be reviewed to prevent fishing bans where bottom trawlers haul more than the rules allow.

The Minister of Oceans and Fisheries’ comments came after a ship in New Zealand caught more than twice the legal amount of 15kg of coral.

This triggered an automatic suspension of fishing in the Lord Howe region of the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia until at least 2026.

Jones told RNZ he was “astounded that a paltry 37kg could be catastrophised”.

“We need to reconsider what is the acceptable amount to be accidentally removed during harvest.”

He told RNZ he would speak to his officials at the next meeting and ask them to raise their concerns with the Ministry for Primary Industries and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Jones received political donations from two companies affiliated with the owner of the fishing vessel at the coral transport center.

In fundraising statements for the 2023 campaign, Jones received $7,000 from Aimex Limited and West food seafood.

The director and general manager of these companies respectively is also the general manager of Westfleet Fishing, which owns the trawler in question.

Jones told RNZ his political donations were well and accurately disclosed.

“I know the views I have seem strange, but they are one component of a larger discussion.

“I’m aware that green groups fear that because NZ First and I received donations from fishing interests throughout the election process, this might distort my views,” he said.

“My views on the priority of the fishing industry predate my entry into politics and the receipt of any money.”

He said any suggestion that his judgment was tainted by donations was “factually incorrect but politically predictable.”

News of the trawling incident led the Green Party to urgently call on the government to ban bottom trawling; He said it was either that or allow ocean ecosystems to “break apart and drift away.”

However, Jones did not view the 37kg haul as a “lethal threat to the ecosystem” and pointed out that the rules were followed and a suspension was issued.

“Obviously it happened and happened in this context and there is also a closure that has been initiated… This will now be seized by stakeholders who want to discourage New Zealand from fishing in that part of the ocean.”

MPI international fisheries manager James Brown told RNZ the automatic suspension was triggered when the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO) Secretariat, which regulates fishing in the South Pacific’s high seas, was notified about the coral transport on 10 October.

“The coral, weighing 37kg, consisted predominantly of gorgonian corals (sea fans) with small amounts of black and stony corals. It was reported to have been accidentally caught and weighed by New Zealand Fisheries observers. Its location was recorded as part of the encounter.”

While each regional fisheries management organization, including SPRFMO, sets its own limits, in this case the threshold in that region was set at 15kg of coral taken before fishing was suspended, he said.

“The vessel involved was carrying Fisheries New Zealand observers as required and followed the correct procedure for reporting the accidental coral capture. There is no indication at this stage that the vessel was in breach of its high seas fishing permit or SPRFMO regulations,” Brown told RNZ.

The encounter will be reviewed by SPRFMO’s science committee next year, and a report will then be presented to SPRFMO members at the 2026 Commission meeting to consider whether the closed area should be reopened.

“There are currently 10 New Zealand flagged vessels permitted to fish in the SPRFMO zone: four trawlers and six bottom longline vessels. Australia has also been approved by the SPRFMO to allow its ships to bottom trawl in the zone.” Brown said.

Last year, the ship responsible for the incident, The Tasman Viking, owned by Westfleet Fishing, was detained from the company for the purpose of fishing for coral; but it appears the company paid to release the ship.

Teanau Tuiono, the Green Party’s spokesperson for oceans and fisheries, said the incident was a “predictable consequence of policies that prioritize profit over conservation”.

“Today’s news is a stark reminder of the damage bottom trawling can inflict on the delicate ecosystems that line our ocean. Bottom trawling is notorious for its devastating effects on marine life, and yet here we are, witnessing the extinction of coral ecosystems that will grow for thousands of years, then disappear in an instant.”

“Secretary Jones’ response to this environmental vandalism underscores his complete disregard for our environment. It is time to step out of the pockets of the industry interests that have it under their thumb and stand up for our ocean before its critical ecosystems are being destroyed.”

But Jones told RNZ there are always trade-offs.

“If you want a modern economy, that requires income, and we generate our income from an export perspective, predominantly from the primary production sector.

“Fisheries are part of primary production and occasionally a few bits of coral go along the way, but you have to consider the importance of GDP and I wouldn’t call coral loss catastrophic.” he said.

He said that carrying over the 15 kg threshold was not done deliberately.

“There is no evidence that this was an act of insensitivity or provocation.

“It’s only 37 kilos of coral. If you took 37 kilos off my puku, I wouldn’t be the weight I was when I left St. Stephen’s School in 1978.”

RNZ has approached Westfleet Fishing for comment.

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