Petition Launched to Halt High Protection Fishing Areas off Coromandel Peninsula Coast

Have your say on a call made recently at a public meeting, to drop the plan to establish high protection no fishing (except customary) areas off the south-eastern Coromandel Peninsula coast.

The meeting was attended by both recreational and commercial fishermen who maintained the zones would have little to no impact on restoring fish stocks in the area.

Expert advice was provided at the meeting from two marine scientists who maintained that the proposed areas currently act simply as transition areas for fish, not a breeding location.

Subsequently, the meeting called for authorities to utilise locally based knowledge and expertise to develop a strategy to both protect fish species in the area, improve fish stocks while also enabling people to continue to enjoy recreational fishing being a major past-time for residents and visitors.

The petition is requesting: That the House of Representatives withdraw proposed high protection fishing areas, relating to Slipper Island and the Aldermen Islands off the south-eastern Coromandel Peninsula Coast, as proposed in the Government’s Hauraki Gulf /Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill.

The reasoning: This petition is being requested following a meeting in Whangamata with more than 200 people that requested further action to oppose the Government’s Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill in the three HPA’s off the east coast of the Coromandel. Viewpoints argue that specific controls would not achieve the biodiversity outcomes sought.

Open the link below to sign the petition.

Petition of John Grant: No High Protection Fishing Areas around Slipper and Aldermen Islands