A public event protesting bottom trawling in the Hauraki Gulf is under way at Auckland’s Mission Bay as hundreds are expected to attend in support.

The event, called ‘Show Your Heart for the Hauraki’ has been organised by Greenpeace Aotearoa and Forest & Bird as an opportunity for the public to express their opposition to bottom trawling in the marine park.

Bottom trawling involves dragging weighted nets over the seafloor in an effort to catch fish and is often a favoured method by commercial fishing companies as it can catch large quantities in one go.

A poll in 2021 showed that 84 per cent of the public who live in the vicinity of the Hauraki Gulf do not want mobile bottom contact fishing to continue. Photo / Alex Burton

More than 200 crafts including kayaks, fishing boats and yachts have registered to be on the water to voice their support of the event and hundreds of people will also gather on the beach.

Greenpeace Oceans campaigner Ellie Hooper said bottom trawling is a hugely destructive fishing method that indiscriminately destroys marine life and precious ecosystems.

“To allow the Hauraki Gulf - Tīkapa Moana to recover and thrive, bottom trawling has got to go. The public mandate for change is clear - 84 per cent of people living around the Gulf want trawling gone from their big blue backyard. It’s time the government heard that call and took action to ban trawling in the Gulf,” she said.

The government is currently considering fisheries management changes for the Gulf, but proposed plans would allow for bottom trawling to continue in large areas of the Gulf.

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More than 200 crafts including kayaks, fishing boats and yachts registered to be on the water to voice their support of the event. Photo / Alex Burton

“Species in the Gulf are in an extinction crisis. If the government is serious about revitalising the Gulf, they have simply got to remove this hugely damaging fishing method from the Marine Park.

 “They must have the courage to stand up to the commercial fishing industry and do what’s right - protect Tīkapa Moana for future generations”, said Hooper.

Forest & Bird Hauraki Gulf coordinator, Bianca Ranson says the event is a clear message to Rachel Brooking, the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries, to end bottom trawling in the marine park.

“Bottom trawling has been ripping up the Hauraki Gulf seafloor since 1899. It’s a violation of our environment at the hands of a few.

“Seafloor species and habitats are being decimated, and whole ecosystems have disappeared. It’s ludicrous to continue this practice in the face of the twin biodiversity and climate crises,” said Ranson.

Seafood New Zealand however is concerned that the event organisers’ limited focus is unhelpful to the shared vision of a healthy Hauraki Gulf.

“To really make positive improvements in the Gulf, there needs to be a generational change and a Ki uta ki tai – mountains-to-sea approach is needed,” said CEO, Dr Jeremy Helson.

“Commercial fishing is not, and would never, shirk its own responsibilities, but unless effective action also takes place on the land, all the other actions will have little effect.

“I would like to see everyone who impacts the Gulf working better together with focus, urgency and commitment so we can make long lasting improvements to its health,” Helson said.