Industry rejects call for ban on bottom-trawling

By IRENE CHAPPLE and agencies

The New Zealand fishing industry has dismissed calls from environmental groups to ban "bottom trawling".

But Fisheries Minister David Benson-Pope says the Government is listening and may consider further protections for biodiversity of the seabed.

Benson-Pope said there was no doubt bottom trawling did "considerable damage" to the environment but its full impact was not yet understood.

The New Zealand and Australian Governments were in talks to "up the levels of biodiversity protection", he said.

The effects of bottom trawling have been debated for some years but calls for the practice to be banned gained momentum this week at the United Nations consultations in New York on oceans and the Law of the Sea.

Further controversy erupted yesterday after Greenpeace identified New Zealand vessels bottom trawling 350 nautical miles offshore.

Greenpeace said it would use the information in a presentation for its campaign at the UN committee.

Bottom trawling is when fishing boats drag massive nets along the seabed in extremely deep water.

Underwater mountains known as seamounts - with corals, sponges and deep-sea habitats - can be destroyed in their paths.

The Seafood Industry Council (Seafic) and the chief executive of New Zealand's largest fishing company say the claims of damage are exaggerated.

Seafic general manager, trade and information, Alastair Macfarlane, said while some damage was sustained by trawling the impact was minimal.

"You can't fish without some impact on the environment but the issue is whether it is sustainable."

Macfarlane said trawling had become more sophisticated and different methods were used including dragging the nets above the seabed.

Sealord's chief executive Doug McKay said the calls were sensationalised. The company uses bottom trawling primarily for its orange roughy and hoki catch but McKay said it was largely done on the flats rather than over seamounts.

In 2001 New Zealand banned fishing in 19 seamount areas within its Exclusive Economic Zone. The areas cover 100,000 square kilometres, or 2.4 per cent of the zone.

The coalition calling for the ban includes the Natural Resources Defence Council, Greenpeace International, The World Conservation Union, Conservation International and WWF International.