Fishing Parks are a new idea from the government to give people in two areas of New Zealand, more chance of catching fish. Commercial fishing boats would not be allowed to catch certain kinds of fish in these areas. The North Island area is the inner Hauraki Gulf from Omaha Bay in the north to the Coromandel Peninsula in the east. It would include Kawau Island and Waiheke Island. The South Island area is the Marlborough Sounds.
The government believes that limiting fishing would protect the environment, the economy and the Kiwi way of life. Limiting the catch of blue cod in the Marlborough Sounds, for example, protects the environment. Exports from commercial fishing add $1.5 billion to the economy but fishing needs to be sustainable. This means not taking too many fish from the sea. And the Kiwi way of life includes allowing people to enjoy fishing and teaching children to fish. On a good summer’s day, close to 7,000 small boats are in the Hauraki Gulf with about 21,000 people fishing. This is recreational fishing. The government is also looking at recreational fishing for tourists. Tourism is important to our economy.
It is possible there would be some compensation for commercial fishing companies who would lose money from limiting their catch of fish.
At the moment, the idea of fishing parks for recreational fishing is just a proposal. The government wants people to send in submissions on this proposal by March 11th. The proposal has 28 questions which people can answer if they want to.
To read the proposal or look at the maps, go to A New Marine Protected Areas Act.
Vocabulary
• commercial – fishing as a business not for fun
• sustainable – will continue for the future
• recreational – a leisure activity, for enjoyment
• compensation – money to match the money they would lose
• proposal – suggestion
• submission – write their ideas about the proposal