Kiwis accused of 'vandalism' after 'deeply concerning' incident off Aussie coast
Close to 40kg of coral was dredged up from a sensitive marine environment.
An estimated 37 kilograms of coral have been dredged up in waters off Australia’s coast by a New Zealand fishing boat. The trawling incident was so serious it prompted the immediate closure of the fishery which lies in international waters.
Greenpeace labelled the ongoing destruction of coral by Kiwi trawlers an act of “environmental vandalism”. It said New Zealand’s conduct in the fragile environment around the South Tasman Sea and Lord Howe Rise is in direct conflict with the Australian government’s championing of “healthy, protected and flourishing high seas”.
Notification of the coral incident occurred on October 10, a day after Australia’s Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek described the region as “a unique landscape” and pledged $100,000 in funding to research the area. Her office has been contacted for comment.
Lord Howe Rise is a submerged plateau that extends almost 2,000 km. It is home to cold-water corals, a menagerie of underwater marine species including whales, and it provides an important feeding ground for seabirds including the threatened Antipodean wandering albatross. The High Seas Alliance, an international collective of conservation organisations, has identified trawling as the "biggest threat" to the region's ecological integrity.
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Coral haul believed to be 'accidental'
Under rules set by the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFM) ships entering the area are not permitted to take more than 15 kg of coral. After the ship reported the breach, a closure until 2026 was automatically triggered.
New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries confirmed with Yahoo News “an encounter with a vulnerable marine ecosystem by an authorised fishing vessel” had occurred. It confirmed the haul predominantly contained gorgonian corals, along with a small amount of black and stony corals.
The Ministry's Manager of International Fisheries, James Brown, said there are no indications the vessel breached its high seas fishing permit at this stage. “The vessel involved was carrying Fisheries New Zealand observers as required, and followed the correct procedure in notifying the accidental coral capture,” he said.
New Zealand proposes controversial solution to fishing suspension
New Zealand’s Fisheries Minister Shane Jones told local media he “wouldn’t fuss” about the issue and the closure of the fishery was severe, a sentiment his office told Yahoo News he stands by.
“It’s a 37kg bunch of coral, I wouldn’t fuss about it too much. We can’t pretend that coral is more important than GDP,” Jones said in an interview with the Herald.
While the country has traditionally marketed itself around its pristine landscapes, and strong environmental credentials, its new conservative government has taken a different approach, preferring jobs and the economy over the environment. In 2023, Jones favoured the creation of mines over preserving rare and obscure native frogs, New Zealand has the highest percentage of species at risk of extinction in the world.
The ship’s owner Westfleet has been contacted for comment by Yahoo News. The same trawler involved in the October incident, the 320 ton Tasman Viking, was fined $52,000 for a separate breach last year for failing to properly document it had caught bamboo coral in the same area.
Jones, who has close ties with the fishing industry, proposed a simple solution to prevent future closures of the region — raise the amount of coral trawlers can haul in.
“We need to revisit what's an acceptable amount to extract accidentally when harvesting,” he told RNZ.
Greenpeace calls for trawling ban in sensitive marine environments
Greenpeace has urged Australia to take a stand against the destruction of sensitive marine environments. It called on the nation to ratify the Global Ocean Treaty, which the United Nations created to produce a legal mechanism for marine conservation in international waters. It has previously referred to the treaty as “one of the most important international conservation agreements in history”.
Speaking generally about New Zealand’s bottom trawlers, Greenpeace said they should be banned from vulnerable areas. Its senior campaigner Violette Snow said the “trail of destruction” they’re leaving is an “outrage”.
“Bottom trawlers are tearing up ancient coral gardens and scarring the seafloor in our big blue backyard, with devastating consequences to the ocean, which is already under mounting pressure from overfishing, climate change and pollution. It is deeply concerning that such a practice is still allowed,” she said.
She also raised concerns about a separate case — Australia permitting a New Zealand fishing vessel to search out a threatened fish species, the orange roughy, in its waters.
What's next?
The suspension of fishing, including its duration, is managed by SPRFMO, an inter-governmental organisation whose members include Australia, New Zealand, China, the United States, and over 15 other participating jurisdictions.
SPRFMO’s Science Committee will review the incident in 2025, and its members will consider whether to re-open the closed area within Lord Howe Rise at its 2026 meeting.
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