LiveOcean: NZ Govt continues to issue bottom trawl licences in South Pacific

Tasman Viking - has been granted a bottom trawling licence by the NZ Government © Julian Webber

With just over 100 days to run until Aotearoa New Zealand’s General Election, we’re watching the unveiling of political policy manifestos for each party’s commitments on ocean health and the future of bottom trawling in our waters and the South Pacific high seas. We encourage you to do the same.

In issuing a permit authorising a New Zealand vessel [the Tasman Viking] to bottom trawl on seamounts in the South Pacific the New Zealand government has rejected the call of New Zealanders to transition away from this destructive fishing practice.

New Zealand remains the only country with vessels still bottom trawling in the South Pacific high seas: it puts us increasingly out of step with international agreements to protect seamounts. This move contravenes the first step we outlined in the Live Ocean petition submission, backed by 73,647 signatories.

It is also of concern that Tasman Viking has twice come under scrutiny for bringing up protected coral while bottom trawling, including a 2024 incident that triggered a temporary closure of the vulnerable Lord Howe Rise seamount.

This matters. Experts tell us seamount habitats damaged by bottom trawling can take decades to centuries to recover.

Tasman Viking has twice come under scrutiny for bringing up protected coral while bottom trawling - photo © Marum

Public concern on this issue is growing. Recent Horizon Research polling, commissioned by WWF-New Zealand, shows 47% of New Zealanders now see bottom trawling as the single greatest threat to the marine environment – up from 37% in similar polling in 2024 – and 90% want bottom trawling limited in some form.

Together with ultra-distance swimmer Jono Ridler, we petitioned Parliament for three clear, achievable steps, and we’re calling for them again now:

Act immediately to stop renewal or issuing of permits for NZ-owned fishing boats to bottom trawl on seamounts in areas beyond national jurisdiction. New Zealand is now the only country still bottom trawling on seamounts in the South Pacific. This is the very step this renewal contradicts. Fully protect seamounts in New Zealand waters by the end of 2027 – no bottom trawling on any seamount rising 100m or more from the sea floor. The destruction is high; the value of the catch is relatively small.

Support the industry to innovate and rapidly transition away from bottom trawling entirely. This is not an anti-commercial fishing position: instead, it is about ensuring the long-term resilience, social licence, and international credibility of an industry that matters deeply to regional New Zealand. There are indications some vessels are spending more time using other harvesting methods, such as mid-water trawling: transition is possible.

This position is increasingly out of step with international commitments New Zealand has signed onto, including UN General Assembly resolutions and the binding Convention on Migratory Species decision adopted this year.

We understand fishing matters to New Zealand’s economy and to regional communities, and we’re not calling for an end to commercial fishing. Live Ocean is calling for an end to one fish harvesting method, on the most vulnerable habitats, within a realistic timeline. Every year without action is another year of avoidable damage to ecosystems that, once lost, may not return in our lifetimes, or several lifetimes after that.

We need a healthy ocean for a healthy future.

For more on Live Ocean's current projects www.liveocean.org