Deep sea trawl ban would hit Nelson hard, says industry figures

Ending deep sea trawling would destroy New Zealand's fishing industry and hit Nelson's economy hard, leading to massive job losses, key industry figures say.

Orange Roughy Management Company chairman Tom Birdsall said a call by the Green Party this week for New Zealanders to boycott orange roughy and deep-sea dory in protest against bottom trawling would have little effect, because most of that fish was exported.

But bottom trawling was the New Zealand industry's main method of catching fish whether that was done in Tasman Bay or in international waters and if it ceased, there would be a significant effect on the economies of port cities such as Nelson, Mr Birdsall said.

Mounting pressure is coming from environmental groups opposing bottom trawling, with Greenpeace in the midst of a controversial campaign against what it says is a destructive fishing practice, and calling for a United Nations moratorium.

"I suspect that if there was no bottom trawling allowed, there would be no fishing industry," Mr Birdsall said.

He said the industry was already under pressure, with the high cost of fuel and the high Kiwi dollar hitting it hard.

Port Nelson Fishermen's Association president Darren Guard agreed, saying 80 per cent of the fish caught in Nelson were caught by bottom trawling.

"If you take that away, it's like taking the land from the farmer," Mr Guard said. "It would be catastrophic."

The fishing industry is Nelson's biggest employer, with 2001 figures showing it generated $250 million for the region from gross domestic product alone.

But the industry is suffering a downturn. Several boats have been tied up for months, and one report has predicted that financial pressures will cost the Nelson industry $22 million this year.

Any end to bottom trawling would be a huge blow for Nelson, Mr Guard said.

He said Nelson would become like a "shanty town", with huge job losses in the fishing industry.

"Every Nelsonian has to ask themselves one question 'Do I know anyone in the fishing industry who I'd be quite happy to see lose their job?'.

"All jobs would be in jeopardy if bottom trawling was banned."

Mr Guard said Greenpeace presented an "extreme" view of the situation to the public, and all sides needed to talk more before any suggestion of a moratorium.

Greenpeace says it is not anti-fishing, but that bottom trawling is destroying the biodiversity of the ocean floor. Many in the fishing industry reject this, saying the impact is minimal because of the minute area of ocean trawled.

The Green Party has described the effects of bottom trawling as "the clear-felling of undersea forests".

Co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said fishing companies and producers would clean up their act only if profits were affected.

"While much of the deep sea catch is exported, the effect of having New Zealanders refuse to purchase these species of fish would make companies think again about what they are doing."

She said bottom trawling for orange roughy and dory netted an extensive bycatch and destroyed corals that were more than 500 years old.

Mr Birdsall said the issue was highly emotive, and that while any production on land or sea had some impact on the environment, it was a matter of striking a balance.

"We would clearly argue that (opponents) are portraying it in a certain light that isn't factual."

- NZPA