The Green Party will work with Labour this term to ensure better protections for our oceans, Green MP Eugenie Sage said today.
Eugenie Sage is today accepting a 60,000 signature petition from the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition calling for an end to harmful bottom trawling on seamounts.
“Seamounts are hugely important marine habitats and for healthy fisheries. Bottom trawling causes major and long term damage on these underwater mountains.
“Heavy nets dragging across seamounts trashes precious deep sea corals that have taken hundreds of years to form. These ecosystems do not bounce back from this fishing damage.
“The Greens brought a strong oceans policy to the election. This included more marine protected areas, helping fishers transition to sustainable practices, and ending bottom trawling on seamounts.
“Without New Zealand First in the tent hindering progress, we hope to work constructively with Labour to improve fisheries management and ramp up protections of our oceans.
“The time to ensure better protection is now, our oceans are under immense strain from a swathe of issues, whether it be unsustainable fishing, mining, ocean acidification, ocean warming, or sediment and plastic pollution.
“If our ocean ecosystems collapse, we all suffer, it is time to better protect our moana”.