While captures of seabirds have decreased with improved offal and waste control practises aboard the deepwater fleet they appear to have increased seabird captures in trawl nets.
If the number of applications for rahui being processed since the end of lockdown are anything to go by, the number of recreational fishers harvesting kaimoana is at an all-time high.
Fisheries have an increasingly important role to play in feeding the world’s rapidly burgeoning population, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).