Unsustainable fishing practices, South Tasman Sea and Lord Howe Rise

Problems

• Overfishing is a serious threat to the health and diversity of the world’s oceans, and it also affects the survival of whales, especially in the South Tasman Sea and Lord Howe Rise. 
  
  Nestled between the EEZs of Australia and New Zealand, the Lord Howe Rise and the South Tasman Sea are among the most biodiverse and productive waters beyond national jurisdiction. Together they act as stepping stones along a migratory corridor for marine megafauna such as humpback whales, offering refuge from predators and rich breeding and feeding grounds.
  
  The Lord Howe Rise is a deep-sea plateau directly east of Brisbane. With a complex seafloor habitat, the area is known for high species richness. An abundance of threatened species, such as the Gould’s petrel, use these waters as a feeding ground. Scientists expect more threatened species will be found in this area as waters warm under future climate scenarios.

• Overfishing in the South Tasman Sea and Lord Howe Rise

  The South Tasman Sea, just south of the Lord Howe Rise, includes some of the most productive waters on the high seas. Many threatened species, such as black corals, can be found there. Important seafloor habitats, including seamounts, humpback, and southern right whales, use these areas as pit stops between breeding and feeding grounds.
  
  New Zealand and Australia dominate the deep-water trawl fisheries in the region on the high seas. The primary areas of international waters where deep-sea bottom trawl fisheries take place are the Louisville Ridge, some 600 kilometers east of the New Zealand EEZ, the South Tasman Rise adjacent to the southern portion of Australia’s EEZ (south of Tasmania), and two areas in the Tasman Sea - the Northwest Challenger plateau and the Lord Howe Rise- west of New Zealand’s EEZ.
  
  The expansion of the fisheries into international waters began in the late1980s with the development of the orange roughy fishery on the high seas in the Tasman Sea in 1988, followed by the fishery on the Louisville Ridge beginning in 1993 and the South Tasman Rise fishery, which first developed in 1997. New Zealand and Australian vessels dominated these high-seas fisheries, although vessels from other nations such as Norway, Japan, Korea, Belize, and Panama participated at various points over the years.
  
  Various international organizations and bodies have recognized the region's importance, and those tasked with managing its resources have identified areas of unique importance. South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO) manages active bottom fisheries in the region. It has identified multiple vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) for the predicted presence of octocorals and hard corals at fishable depths within its jurisdiction. But to date, no comprehensive protections have been put into place. Despite the high probability that rare and fragile corals live in these waters, almost none of the area is closed to bottom fishing.
  
  Existing protections are limited to a “move on rule,” which requires fishing operations to move their activities should they encounter deep-water coral or other indicators that they are approaching a VME and share the location of the VME with fisheries managers. SPRFMO considers these protocols interim measures until other management arrangements are established. Environmental advocates have long called for a ban on bottom trawling on seamounts in the South Pacific’s international waters.
  
  Bottom trawling involves dragging heavy nets and trawl “doors” along the seabed that run roughshod over any organisms or structures in their path; scientists have compared it to clear-cutting a forest. Sonar devices now fitted to the nets scare off whales and dolphins, most of the time; in 2019-2020, fisheries observers—present on around one in five New Zealand trawlers—recorded just two dolphins accidentally caught by trawling. (However, when observers are on board, they consistently record more bycatch than is self-reported by fishers.)
  
  The consequences of bycatch for cetaceans can be fatal or debilitating. Cetaceans can drown or suffocate if they cannot reach the surface to breathe. They can also suffer from injuries, infections, stress, exhaustion, starvation, or predation if they cannot free themselves from the gear. 
  
  Even if they manage to escape or are released by fishers, they may still die later from their wounds or reduced fitness. Bycatch can also affect the social structure and behavior of cetaceans, such as their communication, reproduction, migration, and foraging.
  
  The South Tasman Sea and Lord Howe Rise should be permanently closed to fishing and established as High Seas marine protected areas.