Dive Mistress » Conservation http://www.divemistress.net Scuba Diving Training, Trips, News and Blog Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:49:38 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Notes from a Marine Reserve Campaigner http://www.divemistress.net/2011/notes-from-a-marine-reserve-campaigner/ http://www.divemistress.net/2011/notes-from-a-marine-reserve-campaigner/#comments Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:42:20 +0000 dive mistress http://www.divemistress.net/?p=3802 I’d like take this opportunity to introduce you all to someone very inspiring, someone who shares my passion for the ocean and someone whose passion for Marine Reserves I am constantly amazed by.
I would also like to thank her very very much for finally succumbing to my pleas for a few words on what she does and what the campaign is all about.
Without further words .. team, meet Catherine Langford – Fish Forever Campaigner.

Notes from a Marine Reserve Campaigner

Author: Catherine Langford, Fish Forever Campaigner
Date: 21 November 2011

Over the past 18 months I have been the impartial, mostly-reliable digital scribe of the Fish Forever campaign team, regularly sharing marine conservation news as @Wantmorefish on Twitter and on our Facebook page to help sustain our presence online.  I was asked some time ago to provide a crisp summary of Fish Forever for journalists, local figures, influencers.

In a flash, my writing powers dried up.

No one was pressuring me to meet a deadline. Nor had I been issued an unrealistic brief. I had been asked only to write more of the same; words shaped to spoon-feed.  But something didn’t feel right.

After procrastinating for weeks, I realised what the problem was. Simply put, I can no longer be objective about Fish Forever. If you want objective, go to the website – I wrote it; they are my measured, committee-approved words that tell you exactly what Fish Forever is about: http://www.fishforever.org.nz .

But don’t ask me to be objective anymore.

After a mentally and emotionally challenging 18 months since the inception of the campaign, I can no longer step back and give you the cool overview and balanced arguments for why we need a network of marine sanctuaries in the Bay of Islands. I still believe we do, harder than ever before. But the truth is that this campaign is not one you can be objective about. This campaign is awkward and twisted and rankling. It’s a political hot potato. It’s exciting, exasperating, rewarding and, occasionally, deathly dull. It interferes with your working life, your private life. For one week a month it becomes your life.

Fish Forever falls under the jurisdiction of the Bay of Islands Maritime Park Incorporated Society. The campaign was set up soon after the showing of the End of the Line at the Turner Centre on 16 May 2010. It had one clear focus: to establish a network of marine protected areas in the Bay of Islands.

End of the Line Press May 2010

Fish Forever is a community initiative, largely volunteer-based. We have an amazing team of volunteers, including marine scientists, oceanographers, professional divers,  ex-charter gamefishers, teachers, photographers. What unites us is a shared belief that the trends towards a depleted marine ecosystem absolutely MUST be reversed before it is too late. We believe there should be areas that are left just “to be” – as Wade Doak would say, “wet libraries for the sea” – to replenish the kelp forests, to let the snapper grow and grow, to let the crays gather, the blue and pink mao mao to flourish.

Fish Forever has become the voice of marine conservation in the Bay of Islands.
What we want is a healthy, replenished bay; a place that we can all live, work and play in. What we – and when I see we, I refer to every individual that has ever come to a meeting, hosted a hui, worn a tshirt, signed a mandate, marked a chart – what WE – the community, tangata whenua, business – what WE want is a Bay of Islands that teems with plants, birds and fish. We want a bay that provides kai for local Maori in their traditional gathering areas. We want waters that can be fished sustainably by recreational and charter fishermen. We want a bay that offers economic and social benefits to the entire community.

Locals mark a chart

After wringing our hands for many months, reluctant to endorse a tool some find so officious, the team has committed to pursuing the application for a marine reserve network using the 1971 Marine Reserves Act. Although marine reserves are not the final answer, they are the only effective long term site-specific tool currently available. The team has not restricted its vision to just marine reserves. However, we believe they are biggest and best step towards the self-management of our marine environment.

First, to heal. Second, to manage.

That is something we learned that from a highly regarded Maori representative, who is campaigning for Maori management rights the length of the Northland coast. We are looking at stage one – healing. So the job is not done when an application is handed in. This campaign is just one component of a more holistic package, probably driven by traditional Maori tools that will help structure the long-term management of the whole of the Bay of Islands and wider Northland coast. It’s unlikely to be called Fish Forever, but I have no doubt members of the Fish Forever team will stay on for the ride.

Fish Forever started out as a publicity campaign to raise awareness about the problem of depleting biodiversity, to listen to the stories of how things used to be and to ask the community what they wanted for their bay.

We advocated for 10% of the enclosed waters of the Bay of Islands to be established as a network of marine sanctuaries for at least a generation. These areas should be representative of the region, they should replicate habitat types throughout the network, the areas should be big enough to sustain the habitat type represented, they should be agreed by the community.

We invited people to sign a mandate – we have over a 1000 signatures. We invited people to draw on charts and engage in the debate about where a marine reserve network might be located – we received 410 responses. We appealed to fishermen to tell us areas that they’d find acceptable – that would not unreasonably affect their recreation or their business. We presented at the Bay of Islands Swordfish club – attendance was poor, so we need to do that again to help us shape a viable proposal. We talked to Daryl Sykes, as representative of the Rock Lobster Industry Council, about how the commercial fishing sector would respond to the call for a network of marine reserves. He talked of opportunity adjustment – possibly meaning financial recompense for those who “lost” a percentage of their legal fishing area? We have approached members of the different hapu in the Bay to discuss what Maori want to see in the future – to learn about their plans for fisheries management and to find out how we can support each other to achieve mutually strong goals. And yes, we are still talking. We haven’t got there yet.

Campaigners on the street in Paihia at It Festival Oct2010

After 18 months of hard debate, we still don’t have all the links in place. However, the process has started.
It is going to be a detailed, technical process that will undergo intense scrutiny. Alongside this work, we will continue to engage in constructive dialogue so that once an application for a marine reserve hits the desk of the Minister of Conservation it will bear the stamp of our community. The application will reflect the aspirations of the local people: those who mourn the decline of a rich marine habitat, those who value Tangaroa for his plenty, those who fear him for his strength and those who love him for the diversity of life he brings.

These are the people with and for whom Fish Forever campaigns.

For more information, please contact info@fishforever.org.nz

Wantmorefish launching new website winter 2011 Team Fish Forever meets before hui at Rawhiti Nov2011 Richard and Ria making rolls for hui Members of campaign team 2011 Deano Gp talking marine protection Colouring competition results Locals mark a chart End of the Line Press May 2010 Campaigners on the street in Paihia at It Festival Oct2010

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]]> http://www.divemistress.net/2011/notes-from-a-marine-reserve-campaigner/feed/ 0 The video Sealord doesn’t want you to see!! http://www.divemistress.net/2011/nice-logo-bad-tuna/ http://www.divemistress.net/2011/nice-logo-bad-tuna/#comments Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:46:00 +0000 dive mistress http://www.divemistress.net/2011/nice-logo-bad-tuna/ Take one random floating object, attach a radio beacon so you can find it again, drop it in the ocean and return later with a giant net and scoop up everything in sight.
That’s how much of the world’s tuna is caught – including the tuna sold by Sealord in NZ – using fish aggregating devices (FADs) with purse seine nets and it’s a recipe for disaster.

This footage was given to Greenpeace by someone inside the tuna fishing industry who’d had enough of the destruction.

Nice Logo – Bad Tuna

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]]> http://www.divemistress.net/2011/nice-logo-bad-tuna/feed/ 0 Sub-Antartic Islands Marine Reserves http://www.divemistress.net/2011/sub-antartic-islands-marine-reserves/ http://www.divemistress.net/2011/sub-antartic-islands-marine-reserves/#comments Mon, 31 Jan 2011 04:34:13 +0000 dive mistress http://www.divemistress.net/?p=3232 The New Zealand Government made an announcement on Saturday 29 January 2011 regarding the creation of Marine Reserves around three sub-Antartic islands.

The reserves are planned around Antipodes Island, the Bounty Islands and Campbell Island.
The area will cover 435,163ha.

Saturday, 29 January 2011, 6:11 pm

New Zealand Fur Seals

Press Release: New Zealand Government
Hon Kate Wilkinson
Minister of Conservation

Hon Phil Heatley
Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture

29 January 2011 Media Statement

Kate Wilkinson said that securing marine reserves around New Zealand’s Subantarctic Islands recognises how unique the marine environment in the area is.

“These islands boast World Heritage status in recognition of their international conservation importance and amazing wildlife. But what is less well-known is that this picture continues beneath the surface.

“Some of the most biologically-diverse marine communities in the world are found here and recent research shows that their diversity compares with locations such as the Galapagos Islands.

“The Subantarctic Islands are renowned globally and are a huge attraction for the burgeoning eco-tourism industry. Protecting the surrounding waters is sure to add to the prestige of this remote area.”

Mr Heatley says the results achieved highlighted the benefits of conservation and fishing interests working together to assess the merits of marine protection.

“The Subantarctics are a unique area and not currently widely fished due to their remote location. The prohibition on any future Danish seining is a sensible step.

“We have allowed for the continuation of long-lining for ling in some areas around the Bounty Islands, as this method is targeted and has a limited by-catch.

“There is also going to be a five-year window to allow for a potential deep-water crab fishery to be explored in the territorial sea beyond the marine reserve around Campbell Island.

“At the end of that period, it will be decided whether a crab fishery can be established or whether the entire territorial sea should become a marine reserve.”

The Ministers wished to thank the Subantarctic Marine Protection Forum, chaired by Buddle Findlay partner Paul Beverley, which conducted a tremendous amount of work consulting on and assessing the marine protection options.

When complete, the new marine protected areas will boost the area of New Zealand’s territorial sea that is protected to over 10 percent.

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]]> http://www.divemistress.net/2011/sub-antartic-islands-marine-reserves/feed/ 2 Greenpeace – Rainbow Warrior III needs your help http://www.divemistress.net/2010/greenpeace-rainbow-warrior-iii-needs-your-help/ http://www.divemistress.net/2010/greenpeace-rainbow-warrior-iii-needs-your-help/#comments Mon, 20 Sep 2010 19:49:02 +0000 dive mistress http://www.divemistress.net/?p=2968

An illustration of the third incarnation of the Rainbow Warrior, which is being purpose-built in Poland.

The third Rainbow Warrior is to take to the water next year.

The 25th anniversary of the bombing of the original Greenpeace flagship in Auckland was in July and the organisation is calling for New Zealand support for Rainbow Warrior III.

Bunny McDiarmid, executive director of Greenpeace, said the third Rainbow Warrior would “not only carry the name but it will carry on the spirit”.

Rainbow Warrior III is being built in Poland and the protest group hopes it will be finished by October next year.

Greenpeace has already received $100,000 in donations but needs $400,000 more.
On October 20, the organisation is holding an auction to raise money for the new vessel.

People from around the country have donated items to the auction to assist in the fundraising.

A morning tea with Shortland Street stars and paintings from prominent New Zealand artists are included.

Ms McDiarmid, who was a crew member on the original Rainbow Warrior, said the new boat was a necessity for Greenpeace as the Rainbow Warrior II was 57 years old.

“She is very old and the amount of work we had to put into her was not becoming worth the effort,” she said.

The original Rainbow Warrior was bombed in 1985 by French intelligence agents to prevent it from protesting at Mururoa against nuclear tests there. The ship now rests at the bottom of Matauri Bay in Northland.

Ms McDiarmid said the new campaigning vessel would be an integral tool for Greenpeace and it would sail all over the world.

NZHerald – Cash drive for Rainbow Warrior III

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]]> http://www.divemistress.net/2010/greenpeace-rainbow-warrior-iii-needs-your-help/feed/ 0 Shame – but not on Denmark http://www.divemistress.net/2009/shame-but-not-on-denmark/ http://www.divemistress.net/2009/shame-but-not-on-denmark/#comments Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:57:44 +0000 dive mistress http://www.divemistress.net/?p=2643 I was upset to receive an email about the massacre of Calderon Dolphins by Denmark.

But I did a little research and wanted to highlight what I had learnt about what I saw and read.
I am not condoning any of this – however I think greater understanding is always needed by all of us all over the world rather than jumping to conclusions.  The conclusion for example being that humans are beating bloody holes into dolphins just for fun.

The email as quoted (typos and all) :

It’s because of the cruelty that the human beings (civilised human) kill hundreds of the famous and intelligent Calderon dolphins.

Take care of the world, it is your home!

This happens every year in Feroe iland in Denmark . In this slaughter the main participants are young teens.
WHY?
To show that they are adults and mature…. BULLLLsh

In this big celebration, nothing is missing for the fun. Everyone is participating in one way or the other, killing or looking at the cruelty “supporting like a spectator”

Is it necessary to mention that the dolphin calderon, like all the other species of dolphins, it’s near instinction and they get near men to play and interact. In a way of PURE friendship

They don’t die instantly; they are cut 1, 2 or 3 times with thick hocks. And at that time the dolphins produce a grim extremely compatible with the cry of a new born child.

But he suffers and there’s no compassion till this sweet being slowly dies in its own blood

Its enough!
We will send this mail until this email arrives in any association defending the animals, we won’t only read. That would make us accomplices, viewers.

The Faroe Islands are not part of Denmark.  They have their own parliament.

These are not Calderon Dolphins but Pilot Whales and other cetaceans such as Atlantic White-sided dolphins and Bottle-nosed Whales.  In fact, I cannot find anywhere any reference to a Calderon Dolphin species.

In reviewing the figures, the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission decided that the percentage of 0.1% of current populations killed was well within sustainable limits.
In fact the number of drives has decreased from a 1709 – 1950 total of 1195 to a 2006 total of 11.

1709!  Thats right.  This practice has been occuring for 300 years.
Now if indeed this is a cultural practice, think of how long it will take to remove/alter this practice from the islanders lives.  And these Faroe Islanders have whale meat and blubber as a staple part of their diets.

I think this is a terrible practice as well – however humans have been rearing and catching and eating meat for thousands of years.

For more information : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling_in_the_Faroe_Islands

Can we compare this to the Taiji Dolphin Massacres?
The well known Sea Shepherd Conservation Society does not mention the Faroe Islands on their site but has extensive information regarding the occurances at the village of Taiji in Southern Japan : http://www.seashepherd.org/dolphins/sea-shepherd-in-taiji.html

Here dolphins are bombared with sound, herded into a bay, covered with nets and killed the next day.
Not only dolphins are herded into the bay, but Pilot Whales as well.

And heres the real kicker : Killing pilot whales violates Japan’s treaty obligations to the International Whaling Commission.

Both practices seem extremely gruesome to a lot of us.
However I believe greater understanding and correctly directed protest is needed – instead of incorrect mail emails.



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]]> http://www.divemistress.net/2009/shame-but-not-on-denmark/feed/ 61 Project Shark Fin NZ Petition http://www.divemistress.net/2009/project-shark-fin-nz-petition/ http://www.divemistress.net/2009/project-shark-fin-nz-petition/#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:53:41 +0000 dive mistress http://www.divemistress.net/?p=2469

Cast your vote and request that the New Zealand Government take action and stop the Shark Finning practice.

Click the link and sign the petition >> Project Shark Fin NZ Petition – Dive Planet.

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I am especially pleased to be able to conduct the Digital Underwater Photography specialty and look forward to complete Enriched Air Nitrox shortly.

Special Credentials Process Date
Wreck Instructor 12-07-09 10:21:53 PM
Digital Underwater Photography Instructor 12-07-09 10:19:08 PM
Boat Instructor 08-07-09 1:31:07 AM
Deep Instructor 08-07-09 1:31:07 AM
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]]> http://www.divemistress.net/2009/specialty-instructor-ratings/feed/ 0 World Ocean Day – June 8th http://www.divemistress.net/2009/world-ocean-day-june-8th/ http://www.divemistress.net/2009/world-ocean-day-june-8th/#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:57:02 +0000 dive mistress http://www.divemistress.net/?p=2259 “one ocean, one climate, one future”

Today is World Ocean Day.  Today and every June 8th.

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The concept of a “World Ocean Day” was first proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The Ocean Project has been working closely with the World Ocean Network for the last six years to promote and coordinate World Ocean Day events and activities with aquariums, zoos, museums, conservation organizations and agencies, universities, schools, and businesses. Each year an increasing number of countries and organizations have been marking June 8th as opportunity to celebrate our world ocean and our personal connection to the sea.

With the World Ocean Network, The Ocean Project also developed and widely circulated a petition to the United Nations urging them to officially recognize World Ocean Day. With help from our Partner organizations, tens of thousands of people from all parts of the world signed online or paper copies of the petition. Your participation in all of this made a real difference!

While official U.N. designation is not going to change things overnight it is an important step in improving the health of our world’s ocean. Now we need to capitalize on this fresh momentum! We hope you will be involved in planning or participating in a World Oceans Day celebration near you in June.

Please visit the rest of the World Oceans Day website to list your event, get celebration ideas, access the media and outreach kit, and more.  >> The Ocean Project.

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]]> http://www.divemistress.net/2009/world-ocean-day-june-8th/feed/ 0 12 species of fish on retail ‘red list’ | Stuff.co.nz http://www.divemistress.net/2009/12-species-of-fish-on-retail-red-list-stuffconz/ http://www.divemistress.net/2009/12-species-of-fish-on-retail-red-list-stuffconz/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 08:41:22 +0000 dive mistress http://www.divemistress.net/?p=2169

Full net of Orange Roughy

Some popular fish may no longer be New Zealand’s family dish as supermarket chains heed calls to stop retailing threatened species.

Greenpeace wants Progressive Enterprises and Foodstuffs to stop selling a dozen species, including snapper, hoki, tuna and orange roughy.

In its report, While Stocks Last: Supermarkets and the Future of Seafood, Greenpeace said supermarkets could influence unsustainable commercial fish catches.

Greenpeace oceans campaigner Karli Thomas said many fish stocks were in trouble despite the quota management system.

Retailers had the power to change the way seafood was sourced and how consumers bought fish by refusing to supply endangered species, she said.

Greenpeace had placed 12 New Zealand species on a “red list” because they were over-fished, vulnerable or fished unselectively and destructively.

Some international retailers had bowed to consumer pressure, Thomas said.

New Zealand orange roughy was on the prohibited list of British and United States retailers because of concerns about species vulnerability.

Foodstuffs executive manager Melissa Hodd said the chain was considering the Greenpeace proposal.

Progressive communications manager Bill Moore said the company was working with Australasian suppliers on the issue.

Prime Minister John Key spoke of the need to supply sustainable species to international markets when he opened a seafood industry conference in Wellington yesterday.

New Zealand had to meet the demands of European and US markets for sustainably caught seafood, he said.

A spokesman for Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley said the Greenpeace report was being reviewed.

THE RED LIST: Antarctic and Patagonian toothfish, Arrow squid, Flatfish, Hake, Hoki, Orange roughy, Oreos, Sharks, Shrimps and prawns, Snapper, Swordfish, Tuna including: big eye, yellowfin, pacific and southern bluefin.

12 species of fish on retail ‘red list’ | Stuff.co.nz.

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]]> http://www.divemistress.net/2009/12-species-of-fish-on-retail-red-list-stuffconz/feed/ 0 Forest & Bird – Shark Fin Pledge http://www.divemistress.net/2009/forest-bird-shark-fin-pledge/ http://www.divemistress.net/2009/forest-bird-shark-fin-pledge/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 04:43:27 +0000 dive mistress http://www.divemistress.net/?p=1966 I pledge my support for a ban on shark finning in New Zealand waters because I am concerned that shark finning is contributing to a decline in shark species worldwide.

I pledge that I will:

  • Not eat, make or serve shark fin soup
  • Avoid restaurants which sell shark fin soup – or raise the issue with them if I see shark fin soup on their menu
  • Not catch sharks just for their fins
  • Support a law change to make shark finning illegal in NZ

Click the link to sign the Pledge : Forest & Bird – Pledge page.

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