We are so excited to tell you about a major victory that our supporters helped achieve. Yesterday at the UN Ocean Conference, the Colombian government announced it will create four new official marine reserves, including one expanding the fully protected Malpelo Sanctuary of Fauna and Flora. Colombia will now surpass the goal of protecting 30% of its waters eight years before the 2030 deadline! The initiative to protect 30% of the global ocean by the year 2030, referred to as 30x30, is a target that scientists have indicated is necessary in order to prevent irreversible loss of marine life. A huge thank you to everyone who made their voice heard on the petition to protect the Eastern Tropical Pacific marine corridor. And, of course, this win would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of Colombia’s environmental, fishing, and maritime authorities, along with scientists, the private fishing sector, nonprofits, and the people of Colombia. With this remarkable action, Colombia will strengthen local fisheries, sustainable livelihoods, and the protection of marine biodiversity in its native waters and throughout the Eastern Tropical Pacific marine corridor. If you’d like to move another campaign to create sanctuaries close to victory, consider adding your name to the brand-new petition to expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument 🌎 ⛵️
Add your name to the open letter urging New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to reverse the rash, last-minute decision to allow harmful commercial fishing in high protection areas in the treasured Hauraki Gulf.
The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is on the brink of ecological collapse.
Overfishing, habitat loss, pollution, and the effects of poorly planned urban development have led to a 57% decline in key fish stocks, a 67% decline in seabirds, and a 97% decline in whales and dolphins in the Gulf. Scallop and crayfish populations are functionally extinct in some areas.
The creation of new marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Hauraki Gulf is critical to protecting and restoring its environment, while also supporting the communities and industries that depend on the Gulf for their livelihoods.
The Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Bill seeks to extend 2 marine reserves and establish 5 new seafloor protection areas and 12 high protection areas in the Hauraki Gulf, acknowledging customary rights within seafloor protection areas and high protection areas.
The Bill is the result of years of collaborative work between tangata whenua, environmental groups, commercial and recreational fishers and others involved in the SeaChange process that began in 2013.
In June, the Environment Select Committee unanimously agreed to advance the Bill, with no substantive changes to the high protection areas.
Now, the future of Hauraki Gulf is at risk because the Government has made the decision to amend the Bill to allow a type of fishing known as ring-netting to take place in the new high protection areas — zones explicitly designed to exclude both commercial and recreational fishing and provide a safe haven for marine life to recover.
Allowing commercial fishing to occur in these high protection areas completely undermines the purpose of the Bill — to restore the health and mauri of the Gulf — ultimately depriving future generations of the ability to enjoy this treasured place.
Sign our open letter calling on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to reverse this rash, last-minute change to the Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Bill.
