Category Archives: Article

This video walks you through some of the latest science on fishing globally. What are the real impacts on the environment? Is fish really a low carbon protein? Watch this if you want to bust some of the myths you might have heard about how commercial fishing really works.

Our annual report provides an overview of our activities and achievements over the past year, as well as key statistics and information about NZ's deepwater seafood industry

We have self-suspended the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certificate for the East and South Chatham Rise fishery – not because of stock level concerns, but because the MSC standard requires there to be a stock assessment.

As an industry we are open to conversations about where we fish and how. We have already prohibited trawling from 30% of our fisheries waters to protect the seabed. We are also investigating new fishing technology to reduce our impact. Is trawling the terrible thing that some commentators believe it to be? No. But it can be improved. We are working to improve it, with good science as our guide.

In the words of the scientists behind the study, “seabed status is high in regions where fisheries are exploited sustainably – emphasizing that good fishery management contributes to better ecosystem outcomes.”

In 2022 a paper appeared in Nature Sustainability entitled "The environmental footprint of global food production." It has many good aspects but did grossly overestimate how much fishing impacted marine ecosystems. The Washington Post took this paper and produced a food calculator that suggested that most fish had a higher environmental footprint than beef. Please click here to read Ray Hilborn's rebuttal published in Nature Sustainability on 25 September 2023.

People in Auckland, Waikato and beyond face a shrinking choice of seafood options at supermarkets, fish and chip shops and restaurants under the proposed Hauraki Gulf commercial fishing bans.

The Fisheries ITP is focused on the wild catch sector of the New Zealand seafood industry. It sets out the first wave of actions toward sector transformation and sits within a broader work programme to manage the environmental effects of fishing.

The Government’s consultation on catch limits for New Zealand’s largest orange roughy fishery (the East and South Chatham Rise fishery which is a sub-area of the ORH3B stock) has brought this deepsea fish into the spotlight again.

The average carbon footprint of wild-caught fish harvested and processed at sea by New Zealand’s deepwater fishers is estimated to be one of the smallest among animal-based protein sources.

This is evidenced in a study by Crown Research Institute AgResearch senior scientists Dr Stewart Ledgard and Dr André Mazetto, released this month by Seafood New Zealand’s Deepwater Council. The scientists measured the average carbon footprint – a key indicator of sustainability – of seafood such as hoki, orange roughy, jack mackerel and squid harvested on 21 deepwater vessels between 2021 and 2022.

Opinion piece: Artificial Intelligence can already do some big things, some revolutionary, some potentially frightening. There’s the risk of disruption from fake political ads, nervousness about what it means for our jobs and philosophical questions about what constitutes life.

Two years after being received, a paper questioning claims that trawling generates more carbon than air travel has finally been published in the same scientific journal. The original paper, by Sala et al, created global headlines, largely generated by the accompanying media release. The paper was first published in Nature and the claim that trawling released more carbon than air travel rapidly became “fact”.

Eating wild-caught fish is better for the environment and biodiversity than consuming meat or even crops, argues RAY HILBORN.

Eating wild-caught fish is better for the environment and biodiversity than consuming meat or crops says leading international marine scientist Professor Ray Hilborn. Fish is the perfect protein; he told the Symposium on Seafood Production in Wellington on 16 February.

A ban on new technology that increases trawl efficiency and reduces environmental impacts is under review. Fisheries New Zealand (FNZ) has called for submissions on a proposal to revoke the prohibition on the use of net sonde cables that is seen as outdated and outmoded by the deepwater sector.

A successful acoustic and biological survey programme of the Northwest and Northeast Chatham Rise orange roughy (ORH) spawning stocks was carried out on Sanford’s San Waitaki during a 30-day voyage from mid-June to mid-July.

During 2022-23, owners of hoki quota have again agreed that the industry will continue to take a conservative approach to the management of this fishery.

In his most recent decision letter, the Minister agreed with this approach, and in recognition of the co-management of the hoki fishery, has provided for the HOK 1 TACC to remain at 110,000 tonnes for the 2022-23 year.

DWG recently partnered with MSC and SNZ in writing sponsored content that appeared both online on Stuff's website, as well as in hardcopy as part of their Forever Project.

Commercial fishing industry worth more than $5 billion to NZ economy - BERL

Published: 19 September 2022

A new report from economic researchers BERL has confirmed the importance of the commercial fishing industry to New Zealand.

For this video from Sealord, a resourceful pair of interviewers asked people they found on streets, wharves, and beaches about sustainable fishing and Sealord's proposal to keep seamount fishing sustainable by ending trawling on 89 percent of them.

In response to Minister David Parker’s announcement on 25 May about the national roll-out of cameras on commercial inshore fishing vessels, Seafood New Zealand (SNZ) Chief Executive Jeremy Helson says the most important questions still remain unanswered.

Last November the New Zealand Conservation Authority urgently advised both David Parker, Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, and Kiri Allan, Minister of Conservation that toxoplasmosis, not fishing, will likely cause the extinction of the Maui dolphin.

Jesse Crasborn and the crew of the FV Rehua received the Innovation Award at the Seabird Smart Award. Crasborn and his team received the award for outstanding leadership in their commitment to trialling new techniques to limit seabirds from becoming caught in deep water trawl nets.

The Seabird Smart Awards, an initiative of the Southern Seabirds Trust, aim to recognise commercial and recreational fishers who have shown outstanding leadership and commitment to looking after New Zealand seabirds. Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, Hon David Parker and Minister of Conservation, Hon Kiritapu Allan presented the awards at an online ceremony this evening.

To view or download DWG's 2020-21 report please click the 'read more' button.

The first study of its kind, by Bangor University (Wales) with collaborating research institutes, published last week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) builds on recent international collaboration. It brings together data from 24 large marine regions around the world to establish a relationship between distribution and intensity of trawling activities and the biological state of seabeds.

Doug Paulin, CEO of the country’s largest deepsea seafood company Sealord, says conservation of New Zealand’s marine biodiversity is a core industry principle, despite what you may have heard.

A retraction is a Big Deal in science, especially from a prominent journal. What’s strange in this story is how the conflict of interest intersects with science. The conflict of interest was apparent immediately upon publication, but it wasn’t until major problems in the underlying science were revealed that an investigation was launched, and the paper eventually retracted.

Last month, the Minderoo Foundation released their 2021 Global Fishing Index report intending to give a global picture of fisheries status. Ray Hilborn has collaborated with the Minderoo Foundation in the past but says this report is highly flawed and should be viewed skeptically.

Scientists at Plant & Food Research have assembled the first genomic resources for hoki. This work was contracted by owners of hoki quota, who wish to ensure the sustainable management of our hoki fisheries continues to be supported by the best available scientific information. Hoki form our largest commercial fishery, annually contributing over $230 million to the economy and was the first New Zealand species to obtain Marine Stewardship Council certification.

Deepwater fisheries quota owners have committed to a five-year scientific research and monitoring programme.

In partnership with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the programme aims to assess the biomass of selected deepwater fish stocks and to monitor and quantify fisheries interactions with deepwater benthic communities.

Deepwater Group (DWG) is pleased to announce the independent reassessment of three orange roughy fisheries for certification against version 2.0 of the Marine Stewardship Council’s Fisheries Standard will soon commence.

During 2021-22, owners of hoki quota have agreed that industry will continue to take a conservative approach to the management of these fisheries. The Minister has set the 2021-22 HOK 1 TACC at 110,000 tonnes (reduced from 115,000).

George Clement is without a doubt an icon within the New Zealand seafood industry. His accomplishments are countless. None more famous than placing New Zealand on the world map as one of the best-managed deepwater fisheries in the world. But there are a few lesser-known yet equally interesting facts about George Clement few may know…

Please find all references from Deepwater Group's Submission to the Environment Select Committee here in response to the Petition Report by Deep Sea Conservation Coalition and its member groups (Save deep sea corals – ban bottom trawling on seamounts) .

Albert Times - special edition

In celebration of World Albatross Day on Saturday 19 June, we have dusted off the Albert Times and published this special edition.
To read the full edition, and to go in the...

Republished from SeafoodSource.com.
A global movement to create additional marine protected areas (MPAs) has been steadily gaining traction in recent years, with the initiative picking up milestone victories in the past few months.
In January, newly inaugurated U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order committing to a “30 by 30” goal, whereby the United States would designated 30 percent of its land and territorial waters to conservation by the year 2030. The move heightened the potential that MPAs will be used as a tool to tackle climate change.

Richard O'Driscoll, NIWA's Chief Scientist for Fisheries, calmly and clearly lays out the flaws in Seaspiracy and reiterates the science that goes into making New Zealand’s fisheries one of the most sustainable in the world.

The latest Status of our Fish Stocks, as assessed annually by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), shows New Zealand’s sustainability credentials are holding up globally. Some 91 percent of all assessed commercial catch has no sustainability issues according to the latest science. And what that means, is the other nine percent is actively being rebuilt through catch limit reductions or closures, as they were found to be below an acceptable level.

With misinformation on seafood at an all-time high right now, it is more important than ever to spread as widely as possible the truth about the sustainability of New Zealand fisheries and the environmental care that is going into protecting our marine space.

New Zealand has a robust and strictly enforced Quota Management System (QMS) which was designed to ensure our fisheries are sustainable and the wider aquatic environment protected. The QMS is a global success story. Some New Zealand fisheries were once overfished and most have recovered to levels where they can be sustainably used. Orange roughy is a great example of this and is now independently certified as sustainable and healthy by the Marine Stewardship Council.

Ray Hilborn and his colleagues at Sustainable Fisheries UW have set up a scientific resource library on their website to combat misinformation and to explain the science of sustainable seafood. In this 3,000-word point-by-point scientific rebuttal to Seaspiracy, they dive into the science and data. Basically, most of the filmmakers' claims come from very old, outdated studies and/or egregious misunderstandings.

A report on a review into New Zealand’s fisheries management “The future of commercial fishing in Aotearoa New Zealand” was released on 24 March 2021. This report was compiled by the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, Prof Dame Juliet Gerrard and an expert panel comprised of representatives from commercial fisheries, fisheries research organisations and NGOs. It provides a suite of recommendations designed to chart a course for New Zealand commercial fisheries into the future.

For those inspired by stories of the Kraken, here’s one for you.
This five-kilo beast was recently brought aboard the FV Independent while mid-water trawling for arrow squid at the Snares.

For those inspired by stories of the Kraken, here’s one for you.
This five-kilo beast was recently brought aboard the FV Independent while mid-water trawling for arrow squid at the Snares.

For those inspired by stories of the Kraken, here’s one for you.
This five-kilo beast was recently brought aboard the FV Independent while mid-water trawling for arrow squid at the Snares.

Skipper of the month - Elle Kibblewhite

Published: 25 July 2018

Elle Kibblewhite has plenty of sea-faring achievements to her name. At 16, Elle began working with her Dad, Richard, cray fishing and set netting on Splashzone 2 during the summer. She also gained her commercial electrician’s trade certificate.

more...

Skipper of the Month - Stephan Fridell

Published: 27 June 2018

After 40 days at sea and even longer away from his family, just moments after setting foot on dry land, Skipper Stephan Fridell received just what every Dad would be longing for – a huge bear hug from his two children....

Sage wants NZ sea lion decline reversed

Comment | Scientists challenge sea lion research

From The New Zealand Herald 23 October 2017

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11935905

A new study by Dr Stefan Meyer from the University of Otago, published in the NZ Heraldrecently, claimed to have "game-changing" new evidence linking the decline of New Zealand sea lions to...

The story of New Zealand orange roughy:  From the “poster child” of unsustainable fishing to Marine Stewardship Council assessment.

By P.L. Cordue and originally published on CFOOD. Published: 9 December 2016 In the late 1970s, a “huge” new fisheries resource was discovered in deep water on the north Chatham Rise. In the early days, there was somewhat...

Marine biodiversity needs more than protection

To sustain the seas, advocates of marine protected areas and those in fisheries management must work together, not at cross purposes, urges Ray Hilborn.

Reposted from Nature Magazine, 13 July 2016

On 1 September, government leaders, directors of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others will meet in Hawaii...

Most NGO’s assume that Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s) are an unmitigated good, with little thought to their impact on the global food system. But, converting large areas of productive fisheries to no-take zones, while appealing to NGO’s, actually may increase global environmental degredation. The reason, says Professor Ray Hilborn in our latest video, is that marine protein...

Nearly a quarter of British children don’t know that haddock is a fish, thinking instead that it is the name of a soccer player. This misconception is almost laughable until one realizes that we are talking about the potential seafood consumers of tomorrow. Unfortunately the misconceptions don’t stop there. In a survey carried out by the...

A new form of commercial fishing - precision seafood harvesting (PSH) - has improved the survival rates for by-catch, scientists involved in the New Zealand project said.The system - which uses a large, flexible PVC liner with specifically sized holes along its length, allows undersized fish to escape before...

It is known to prevent against heart disease and is hailed as the secret to a long, healthy life. Now, researchers have found the Mediterranean diet can help people with depression, too. A study found people who followed the diet were happier, less stressed and reported an improved quality of life compared to those who ate fewer...