Today is World End of Fishing Day, marking the trillions of fish killed yearly, many of which are not eaten, just waste products of another fishery. Fisheries globally are overfished, with many fish on the brink of extinction.
The long-finned eel is one such species in Aotearoa. However, 100 tonnes of these eels can be caught commercially and exported, in addition to those captured by individuals. The Vegan Society stated that these practices are unsustainable and cannot be allowed to continue.
“Fish are not given the same kind of consideration that humans give to land animals, especially mammals, and as such are forgotten victims of our inhumanity, We poison their home. We kill them indiscriminately and with the worst kind of wasteful practices,” said Claire Insley, media spokesperson for the Vegan Society.
The Vegan Society has called for a total ban on commercial fishing and the establishment of more marine reserves in New Zealand’s offshore water to protect and recover remaining and declining species.
Insley revealed that existing government reports address the issues of fishing long-finned eels. However, fishing of species has continued.
The spokesperson for the Vegan Society also described the well-known practice of white-baiting in New Zealand as another vital area of discussion. Insley shared that the annual white-baiting season has continued despite four whitebait species being endangered. Insley satiated that while the season is shorter west coast, the lack of regulation around how the practice is conducted and how much whitebait is caught is a critical issue.
Trawlers that scrape the seabed remove all life there existing, with estimates of 40 percent of sea creatures caught using this method being unwanted bycatches. In addition, line fishing also has a bycatch rate of approximately 20 percent of species caught being unwanted. The Vegan Society described the practice as hugely wasteful and that humans did not need to eat fish.
The Vegan Society stated that New Zealand must seek to preserve the species currently at risk, revealing that there was no coming back once extinct.
Maui dolphins are often caught in many fisheries around Aotearoa, which has critically endangered the species and cannot continue to survive under these conditions.
The society declared that the Hauraki Gulf should be declared a Marine Sanctuary with an immediate enactment of a fishing ban on the area.
According to the Department of Conservation, 76 percent of freshwater fish and 26 percent of freshwater invertebrates were classified as either threatened or at risk of extinction in 2017 and 2018. For marine species, 22 percent of indigenous marine mammals and nine percent of sharks, rays, and chimaeras were classified as either threatened with or at risk of extinction.
The research revealed insufficient information to assess the conservation status of 39 percent of sharks, rays, and chimaeras or 67 percent of marine mammals.
