Date published: 2007/05/05
The BBC says:
A quarter of the world's oceans will be protected from fishing boats which drag heavy nets across the sea floor, South Pacific nations have agreed.
The landmark deal will restrict bottom trawling, which experts say destroys coral reefs and stirs up clouds of sediment that suffocate marine life.
Observers and monitoring systems will ensure vessels remain five nautical miles from marine ecosystems at risk.
The South Pacific contains the last pristine deep-sea marine environment.
It extends from the Equator to the Antarctic and from Australia to the western coast of South America.
The high seas encompass all areas not included in the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a country.
The agreement reached in the coastal town of Renaca in Chile will come into force on 30 September.
It will close to bottom trawling areas where vulnerable marine ecosystems are known or are likely to exist, unless a prior assessment is undertaken and highly precautionary protective measures are implemented.
The delegation from New Zealand, whose fishermen are responsible for 90% of bottom trawling in the South Pacific high seas, said the restrictions would "severely constrain" its fishing vessels.
"Because of the cost implications of the necessary research and assessment and observer requirements, it may even have the effect of putting an end to bottom trawling," it said.
Well, the idea is to put an end to bottom trawling, you would have thought New Zealand could have figured that one out. And it seems likely that this is indeed the correct decision, although perhaps we will discover some day that this is not the case. The question now is who is going to enforce this agreement.
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