Paula Bennett: Fishing for fun, not for the kill

The snapper is poster boy for a campaign to end bottom-trawling in the Hauraki Gulf. Photo / 123RF

Hands off my bottom! Said the snapper to bottom trawling and scallop dredging in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. It is the latest campaign by the Hauraki Gulf Alliance, formed by LegaSea.

Like many New Zealanders, I love the sea, whether I am in it or on it, it’s my happy place. I find it tranquil and love looking back at our beautiful coastline. I am a trustee for Sea Cleaners, a charitable organisation that cleans up our harbours, oceans and seas.

Sea Cleaners are 20 years old and led by founder Captain Hayden Smith, a man whose commitment, tenacity and concern for our environment are contagious. Since its inception, Sea Cleaners has recovered and removed more than 14,047,312 litres of rubbish and have co-ordinated over 166,043 hours of volunteer support.

If you want to do your part, just don’t drop your rubbish and pick up any that you see – clean up your own street and backyard because in our island nation everything ends up in the water. You can also check out their website seacleaners.com to volunteer and give a dollar or two if you can.

I fish quite a lot and have been on the winning team of the Women’s Bay of Islands Marlin Fishing competition, when we tagged and released. A few weeks ago, Bayleys commercial real estate alongside LegaSea organised a fishing competition, with more than 40 boats and more than 150 anglers.

It was all about sustainable fishing. Gone are the days when you haul dead fish to the prizegiving and have them weighed. The competition was snapper only and fish were measured and photographed. Our boat over the 24 hours probably caught more than 100 legal fish. We kept eight and we gave them away. It was the same for most of the other boats. It was about having a good time, not about how many fish you kill.

We have to get better at protecting our sea species and our ocean. I reckon recreational fishers are leading the way in changing how we fish. It’s about taking enough for a feed, throwing back the breeders and using the whole fish not just the fillets.

Check out an amazing initiative, the Kai Ika Project on kaiika.co.nz. They take recreational fishers’ catch, fillet it for a small fee and give you the fillets then take the fish heads, frames and offal that was going to waste and redistribute through marae to families and community groups in South Auckland who value these fish parts. They are feeding families.

Our fishing charters need to think about telling their anglers that it is about the joy of being on the ocean and the thrill of the chase. Not about taking every fish so that everyone gets their limit as quickly as possible so you can get back to shore and take another lot out.

We need to stop bottom trawling and dredging in our harbour. It is a destructive fishing method that decimates the seafloor and destroys whole ecosystems. You can sign the petition haurakigulfalliance.nz

I want our grandkids to enjoy our beautiful waters and coastline for decades to come. It is our responsibility now to ensure they can