TO: FMsubmissions@mpi.govt.nz

Subject line: Submission on Orange Roughy fishery (ORH3B)

My name is [Name] and I am [Something about you]. I live in [Place].

This is my personal submission on the proposed changes for the East and South Chatham Rise (ESCR) orange roughy (ORH 3B) fishery, which is now on the brink of collapse.

Orange roughy are a unique, slow growing species of deep sea fish that have been decimated by the New Zealand fishing industry and weak regulation. Orange roughy congregate on seamounts and are caught via bottom trawling.

I know bottom trawling is highly destructive - wiping out orange roughy numbers and also destroying the deep sea habitats they depend on.

I share the concerns of marine experts who are calling for a closure of this fishery so that roughy, and the habitats like seamounts, that they depend on, can recover.

I support the strongest measures that will ensure orange roughy thrive.

I don’t think option three - “60% catch reduction and partial closure” - goes far enough. Only closing the ESCR fishery completely, alongside a ban on bottom trawling on vulnerable seamounts and similar features, will protect orange roughy for the future.

Kind regards,

[Contact details.]

#ProtectTheOcean #BanBottomTrawling #oceans #fisheries