Listen Now: 
F&B cries foul at camera debate
Forest and Bird is accusing the Maori fisheries settlement trust Te Ohu Kaimoana of being a bad apple in the effort stop the bycatch of birds and marine mammals.
The group is alarmed at a spate of animals being caught in nets, including four New Zealand sea lions and four hector’s dolphins, as well ss a number of albatrosses and other endangered birds being caught on longlines.
Ocean Advocate Katrina Goddard says the answer is installing cameras on all commercial fishing vessels.
But she says an Official Information Act search turned up a letter to the Fisheries Minister showing Te Ohu Kaimoana and Talley’s Fisheries opposing the camera programme.
"And so they’re blocking all of this action or this progress that we need so we can improve our fisheries and it’s really disappointing. These are the bad apples that we need to hold accountable so that we can improve our fisheries.
Submissions released by Te Ohu Kaimoana shows it supports digital monitoring including cameras, but belives the ministry’s timetable is unrealistic, and it wants greater industry involvement in managing the process.
& 
Copyright © 2019, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
RELATED NEWS
