Trawling for the Truth | 'Film the Trawlers' | Ep 48

Kia ora
Welcome to "The Change Makers" – our weekly video series.
In this series our Change Makers share their stories, their thoughts, their ambitions and their actions to leave the earth a better place – to be a Good Ancestor to future generations.
Our planet is experiencing catastrophic environmental harm and it requires us to Think Long Term, beyond our lifetimes, to evaluate our choices and to take actions to ensure a sustainable and healthy future for all.
The stories of those leading the change – The Change Makers – those thinking and acting with long-term vision, are inspirational.
Inspired, we can ask ourselves, “what can we do to be Better Ancestors?”
This week, Better Ancestors visits with Siana Fitzjohn to learn about her project ‘Film the Trawlers’.
‘Film the Trawlers’ is the project to lift a veil of secrecy on the activities of New Zealand’s industrial fishing fleet.
Top of the list is bottom trawling, the destructive fishing practice where weighted nets are dragged along the sea floor, destroying entire ecosystems, to then wrench our most popular eating fish including orange roughy, hoki and oreo to the surface.
“We intend to meet the trawlers at sea and make these companies feel witnessed by the public.”
Because most consumers only encounter fish wrapped in plastic in the freezer at the supermarket, the fishing industry is able to hide the extreme consequence of their activities. If people understand the link between fish in the supermarket and the horror of industrial scale destruction then behaviour will change.
“Unless we connect with the industrial scale of damage being done at sea, we will destroy the precious ecology around our islands without even knowing what was there in the first place.”
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Episode 49 premieres next week, Sunday 19th December 2021.

[octopusenvy]

Proud of the start of the end...see you on the water again soon

[Adogsmate]

I'm so thankful for your efforts to help preserve our seas.

[stevensmith]

I could be wrong but as I understand it most trawlers run there nets over sandy bottoms. This means they'll catch target species like flat head. The boats also have a vested interest in keeping away from reefs and rocks which will damage their equipment.

[robertake]

Good work guys keep it up, it's a shame that the industry hides what they are doing from the public

[johnfoster]

So much that Joe public do not know about these things. Well done and good luck, you can make a difference. From little things big things grow...

[smokingtyres-nz-]

It's not just Sanfords but also sealord an tallys they all have a number of these boats operating around nz and on top of that you have even bigger boats from other countries operating here in nz waters some of these boats can catch up to 80 ton in one go

[warwickroberts]

Agree that commercial fishing is the greatest danger to "New Zealand " waters. They are not Aotea waters

[austenspriggs]

I worked for Sanford's I could tell you some stories

[Lonnie-ep]

Isn't it a bit odd how these people who literally know nothing about the industry's they blindly crusade to destroy they don't log farm or commercial fisherman..Guess what i do I've done for 40 years .I have literally been around the world fishing the Atlantic pretty much all of the pacific Russia the bering sea Japan the gulf east coast west coast I can assure you that the ocean
is alive and well

[sallykemp]

Greed! when a person get more than it’s quota for the day he or she gets find!

[johngy]

What a lot of garbage san discovery doesn’t fish for flat fish and the footage of fish you show is caught by a purse seiner

[anthonysimonhough]

Hay this is great. Wake up new. Zealand get to know what is happening around our waters I have seen this myself it does happen so I think all comercal fishing should be monitored.

[chippytwo]

wow you don't have much of an idea do you, now that's dangerous with gobb like that

[PungBoy]

Your telling little porkies here. Dolphins, Sharks, Seals diving to 6300m?

[ronniethompson]

Money that's why it is over. Fished.wont stop .have to make big changes.we talk about it going to do this going to do that it's just talk.by the time the fishery's and government do something about it to late.

[foracal]

Love the effort but show more instead of telling more and sobbing showing that massive coral being tossed back hit me harder than listening to her