Fisheries New Zealand seeks feedback on Hauraki Gulf restoration plan

Fisheries New Zealand is inviting people to have their say on a draft Fisheries Plan to help restore and protect the Hauraki Gulf.

Emma Taylor, director fisheries management, says this is one of the key long-term fisheries management actions in the government’s strategy, Revitalising the Gulf, which seeks to restore and protect one of New Zealand’s most important marine environments.

Ms Taylor said the plan seeks to support sustainable fisheries and the recovery and protection of key habitats and species, as well as encouraging greater local input to strengthen fisheries management.

The draft Plan proposes a range of integrated management actions including:

• Removing bottom trawl and Danish seine fishing except within limited areas or “trawl corridors” (subject to further consultation by mid-2023)
• Improved management of scallop fisheries in the Hauraki Gulf
• Restoring fisheries abundance to address localised depletion
• Reviewing the management of intertidal harvesting
• Supporting regional participation in fisheries management

The draft plan will be supported by the development of fisheries indicators and a monitoring framework to measure progress over time. If approved, it will be New Zealand’s first area-based fisheries plan.

Consultation began on Tuesday, January 17, and will close at 17:00 on March 3, 2023.

More information, including details on how to submit feedback, can be found here.