A friend asked me what areas of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park are closed to all forms of fishing with nets. This is important if you are a dolphin, seabird, or fish that doesn’t want to be caught by these methods, which can take non-target species as well as the intended catch.
In the marine park, net fishing is done by purse seiners, bottom trawlers, Danish seiners, ring net fishers, commercial and recreational set net fishers, and recreational beach seine (drag net) fishers.
In the map below I have included the Marine Reserve Extensions in the proposed Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Bill but excluded the Seafloor Protection Areas, which don’t restrict all net fishing, and the High Protection Areas (HPAs), which will allow customary fishing with nets. Two of the HPAs will also allow commercial ring-net fishing.
Although many areas with permanent Set Net Closures remain open to other forms of net fishing—like drag nets—it’s pretty rare except in the Tāmaki Estuary. The Cable Protection Area (CPA), however, is a true no-fishing zone: under the Submarine Cables and Pipelines Protection Act, all fishing and anchoring are prohibited. It’s pretty clear in the map that the CPA is doing nearly all of the real protection from nets.
