Water advocates team up to end bottom trawling

Spearfishing champion Darren Shields and ultra-distance swimmer Jono Ridler are among the increasing number of voices calling on Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones to ban bottom trawling.

Aucklander Ridler, 35, began his attempt to swim the entire east coast of New Zealand's North Island on January 5. He will swim in rotating shifts over around 90 days for Swim4TheOcean, a project that aims to highlight the costs of bottom trawling on seamounts and other vital marine ecosystems, and highlight the importance of ocean health.

The swim is in collaboration with marine conservation charity Live Ocean, a marine conservation charity founded by Kiwi sailing champions Peter Burling and Blair Tuke.

Earlier this month, Darren Shields posted his own video on social media showing a trail of dead fish near Auckland's Great Barrier Island, that appears to come from a nearby trawler. The video shows several species of fish, including baby and undersized snapper, boarfish and pufferfish, floating in the water. Fisheries New Zealand says it is investigating, with regional manager Andre Espinoza saying they are determining whether an offence has occurred.

Shields, who has spent over 50 years fishing and filming marine environments and who has seen similar dumps several times, says Kiwis still have a small window to influence fisheries reform. "The problem is not commercial fishing - our people need to eat," says Darren, who has a background in commercial fishing. "The problem is the sytem and what's allowed."

Bottom trawling, a destructive fishing method where heavy, weighted nets are dragged across the ocean floor, causes significant damage to marine habitats. Species with little or no commercial value are discarded, while others, including boarfish, are considered legal bycatch and edible. In June 2025, a New Zealand bottom trawling vessel pulled up six tonnes of protected stony coral in a single trawl - the worst reported case of coral destruction in New Zealand waters in over a decade. 

The industry body believes allowing certain bycatch to be landed and sold, instead of being discarded, will remove incentives for dumping and make the quota management system more efficient, an approach Shields rejects. "Once those fish have a value, they'll be targeted. That means more bottom trawling, more nets across reefs and more indiscriminate killing."

This month, Jones had to back down on a controversial proposal to allow the sale of dead marlin as bycatch after significant opposition from recreational fishers and conservationists. Today the Minister announced plans to change bycatch rules to ease costs for deepwater commercial fishers.