Seafood NZ welcomes funding for seabird conservation work

Wednesday, 16 July 2014, 3:50 pm
Press Release: Seafood New Zealand

Seafood New Zealand welcomes community funding for seabird conservation work

Seafood New Zealand today welcomed Conservation Minister Dr Nick Smith’s announcement that the Government will provide $300,000 of funding to two community groups to support their work in protecting some of New Zealand’s special seabirds.

The seafood industry is one of the founding partners in the Southern Seabird Solutions Trust which has received $100,000 towards a seabird smart recreational fishing initiative that aims to reduce the number of birds accidentally caught by recreational fishers in the upper North Island.

“The commercial seafood industry has been a strong supporter and sponsor of the Trust which has been instrumental in working with commercial fishers to reduce seabird by-catch in a practical way,” says Tim Pankhurst, Chief Executive of Seafood New Zealand.

“The Southern Seabird Solutions Trust’s approach is collaborative and based on shared learnings, often gained in workshops held with fishers around the country.

The workshop approach has been hugely beneficial in getting fishers to spread the word and help other fishers to understand why seabird mitigation is worth it,” says Mr Pankhurst.

“It’s great to see that expertise, knowledge and effort will now be extended into the recreational fishing sector.”

The $100,000 fund will go towards creating hubs of “seabird smart” recreational fishing communities in key fishing areas in the upper North Island.

The Yellow-eyed penguin Trust will receive $200,000 and was the subject of the Southern Seabird’s short film launched yesterday by Dr Smith, titled “Sharing Worlds, Seabird and Fishing.”

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