The Government has announced plans to ban bottom trawling from almost all of the Hauraki Gulf.
Four options will be up for public consultation that will see bottom trawling and Danish seining banned from up to 89 percent of the 1.2 million-hectare marine park.
However, there have long been calls for the practice to be completely banned in New Zealand.
Bottom trawling is a method of fishing where weighted nets are dragged across the sea floor. It is banned in many countries due to its destructive effects on marine life.
Bottom trawling can damage or remove animals living on the surface of the seabed within the trawl path and their habitats, MPI said.
But a total ban on the practice is off the cards for the Government.
Appearing on AM, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Rachel Brooking confirmed an option for zero bottom trawling was not on the table.
"If banning bottom trawling around the whole gulf was going to suddenly make the whole gulf perfect then that would be different but there's a lot of different inputs into the gulf," she said.
The Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand's most popular fishing region, is in poor condition with numbers of iconic marine species down and reports snapper is suffering from starvation.
"The Gulf is a taonga with deep-rooted historical importance for tangata whenua, a vital part of our society and of our tourism, transport and seafood sectors, with an economic value of $100 billion. But it's in trouble, and we have to strike the right balance between being able to use it, and making sure it’s healthy and available for our grandchildren," Brooking said.
The proposal will ban bottom fishing everywhere except in very specific and limited places, called trawl corridors, or Bottom Fishing Access Zones.
At the moment, bottom-trawling and Danish seining are banned in 27 percent of the Gulf's waters.
The trawling ban was foreshadowed earlier this month when Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced plans to create 19 new marine protection areas in the Gulf.
Public consultation on the options will open tomorrow and close on November 6:
- Option 1:Danish seine fishing banned from 74.1 per cent and trawl fishing banned from 77.1 per cent of the Gulf shallower than 200m, with these fishing methods limited to 6 defined zones.
- Option 2: Trawl and Danish seine fishing banned from 79.4 per cent and trawl fishing banned from 82.4 per cent of the Gulf shallower than 200m, and limit these fishing methods to 5 defined zones.
- Option 3: Trawl and Danish seine fishing banned from 86.6 per cent and trawl fishing banned from 88.5 per cent of the Gulf shallower than 200m, and limit these fishing methods to 4 defined zones.
- Option 4: Danish seine fishing banned from 87.3 per cent and trawl fishing banned from 89 per cent of the Gulf shallower than 200m, and limit these fishing methods to 4 defined zones.
