Proposals for new conservation system irks anglers

Fish & Game New Zealand claims that a report by the Environmental Defence Society (EDS) downplaying the importance of valued introduced species such as trout and salmon is wide of the mark.

The EDS Restoring Nature report, launched last week, recommends replacing the Wildlife Act and Conservation Act with a new law that gives greater priority to threatened and indigenous species over valued introduced species.

“We accept the need to reform the Wildlife and Conservation Acts and acknowledge the report has some sound recommendations. However, overall, it demonises valued introduced species,” says Corina Jordan, chief executive of Fish & Game New Zealand.

“The report ignores the fact that environmental degradation, habitat loss and climate change pose the greatest challenge to threatened and indigenous species.

“If these recommendations were ever adopted, they would effectively reduce the protection of trout and salmon, which legislation has long safeguarded. These laws have recognised the national importance of valued introduced species and the reason why we need to protect their habitats – that’s to safeguard the habitat of all freshwater fish.

“By recognising these species and protecting their habitat, we are also protecting all freshwater species. That’s because trout and salmon have some of the highest freshwater quality and quantity requirements out of our freshwater species.

“It would also mean that trout or salmon in an angler’s favourite river will be classed as ‘second class citizens’ even when indigenous species are not threatened.

“Ultimately, these recommendations place a question mark over the future of freshwater fishing, the species we harvest for food and our critical role in managing these species and their habitats on behalf of New Zealanders.”

The EDS report called Restoring Nature: Reform of the Conservation Management System sets out a comprehensive package of recommendations for a new conservation system.

“All of our core conservation legislation predates the dual climate change and biodiversity crises. There is an urgent need to bring these laws in line with modern conservation practice, to better reflect Te Tiriti, current values and aspirations and to ensure that the system is responsive to the challenges ahead,” said report co-author Dr Deidre Koolen-Bourke.

She says the report builds on EDS’s 2023 reviews of the Wildlife Act and the Conservation Management Planning system and that it demonstrates a clear need to prioritise indigenous biodiversity, shift management towards restoration, and strengthen a science-based approach across the system.

“DOC is charged with managing around a third of our country’s land, and it contains our most iconic landscapes, and irreplaceable natural and historical heritage,” says report co-author and EDS Policy Director Raewyn Peart.

“However, the department has never been sufficiently funded to do this job. The report therefore looks closely at how [DOC] can increase its income.

“Our recommendations are designed to provide a starting point for a national conversation on conservation reform. They highlight the critical gaps and pinch points that need to be addressed as matters of urgency. Our ageing conservation system is failing and it is crucial we get the settings right,” says Peart.

The report also explores different options for the management of introduced species, including replacing Fish & Game with a public agency similar to the former Wildlife Service or combining it with the Game Animal Council.

“Historically, Fish & Game has been the ‘last man standing’ in representing the public good in the fight to ensure New Zealand has a healthy environment people can enjoy,” says Jordan.

“Anglers and hunters are out there, off track, in New Zealand’s wild places. They’re involved in predator trapping, endangered birds’ recovery programmes and habitat enhancement. They’re among New Zealand’s greatest conservationists and really care about the environment and our iconic native species.”

EDS is also wrong to suggest valued introduced species always pose a threat to indigenous species.

“The latest scientific research demonstrates native fish and trout can co-exist with careful management. What’s most important is habitat quality over competition for food.

“The overlap between trout and vulnerable species is, in fact, limited. Any impact is localised to a fraction of New Zealand’s waterways. Habitat degradation has been identified as a more significant threat than trout predation.