Seafood New Zealand Offers Hope And Answers To The Challenges Of David Attenborough’s Ocean Film

Thursday, 8 May 2025, 5:18 pm
Press Release: Seafood New Zealand

“Happy Birthday Sir David – Our Gift to
You”

The group representing New Zealand’s
commercial fishing sector says what we do in Aotearoa can be
an inspiration to the rest of the world.

Legendary and
beloved broadcaster David Attenborough can be seen in movie
theatres across the world today, telling the story of his
and others’ deep concerns about the impact of overfishing
and destructive fishing techniques. The film ‘Ocean’
also offers hope and prospective solutions, holding up
marine protected areas as a method that will allow the
oceans to bounce back.

In Aotearoa, Seafood New
Zealand says the film is a deeply moving summary of the
impacts of the worst extremes of commercial fishing, but
professional fishing in New Zealand has many examples to
offer which address Sir David’s
concerns.

Seafood New Zealand CEO Lisa
Futschek says “we have learned from experience. We had
more than 100 years of open access fishing. We saw where
that led.

“In 2025, things are very
different here. For almost four decades we have had a
strictly enforced Quota Management System which puts
restrictions on how much fish can be taken and from where.
Under this system, fish stocks have bounced back. In fact,
science tells us that 97% of our stocks by volume are at
sustainable levels.

“We certainly can’t claim to
be perfect, far from it, but we can directly address some of
the concerns that Sir David raises. In fact, we hoped that
the story of how commercial fishing is done in New Zealand
could be the sort of good news a global treasure like Sir
David needs on his 99th birthday.”

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For
example, the film lobbies for a third of our oceans to be in
marine protection. It is also most concerned about the
impact of bottom trawling. New Zealand is already there,
having 30% of its waters protected in Benthic Protection
Areas. Bottom contact fishing is banned in these areas,
which were created at the request of the commercial fishing
community.

Lisa says “the film also
shows great concern about the impact of large-scale
commercial fishing on local communities and indigenous
people. Here in New Zealand, fishing is the lifeblood of
rural centres from Whangārei to Bluff. Places like
Westport, Nelson and New Plymouth are where jobs are created
and communities benefit. We can also proudly say that thanks
to Māori fisheries settlements and the Māori Fisheries Act
of 2004, we have over 40% of fishing quota in Māori
ownership.”

‘Ocean’ is also concerned about
subsidies for commercial fishing. New Zealand was global
leader in removing fisheries subsidies back in the ‘80s as
part of a broader economic reform and to promote sustainable
fishing practices.

Lisa says “the film talks about
the ability of our oceans to bounce back. Our people have
seen that here with our own eyes. Management has been the
solution. We hope our experiences and the lessons we’ve
learned can be a gift, not just to Sir David, but to the
rest of the world.

“Yes, we still have work to do to
continue to reduce bycatch and we are constantly making
advances with this. New Zealand fishermen have been
inventive, coming up with devices such as new weighted
hooks, different types of nets including net replacements
such as FloMo, a technology which has been years in
development and is now trialling a way to alert a fisher if
a marine mammal is caught and then open the fishing gear
underwater, to allow that mammal to swim free.

“We
do things differently here in Aotearoa and we would love Sir
David to pay us a visit and see how our people operate. But
first we invite New Zealanders to get to know how we fish,
the day-to-day realities beyond the headlines or the stories
of when things do occasionally go wrong. We think Kiwis will
feel proud when they see the full story.”

New
Zealanders are invited to view local footage of trawling and
other fishing practices here.

Fast
Facts – Key Data about New Zealand Commercial
Fishing 

· New Zealand’s
commercial wild capture fisheries are worth $1.6 billion in
export revenue  

· Our seafood sector
produces $2.2 billion in export revenue in total (including
aquaculture) 

·  16,500 Kiwis are
employed either directly or indirectly in
seafood 

·  Fisheries management is
complex – there are 642 fish stocks under
management 

·  New Zealand fish stocks
are in good shape.  97.3% of total commercial landings
by weight are from stocks that are considered sustainable (see
MPI
data). 

© Scoop Media

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