Photo: Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust
Government Ministers have put in an immediate emergency closure of all set net fishing around the Otago Peninsula to help preserve the local population of Yellow Eyed Penguins - said to be one of the world's rarest penguin species.
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones acknowledged fishers had voluntarily stopped set netting, but the Government needed to step in with a more substantial ban.
He has told officials to work on permanent measures to reduce the impact of fishing on Hoiho.
Figures from Seafood NZ and the Ministry of Primary Industries showed 17 birds were killed in fishery incidents between October 2019 and June 2025, primarily as by-catch in set nets.
The Environmental Law Initiative has been calling on Jones, and the Conservation Minister Tama Potaka to put a ban in for two months.
The Environmental Law Initiative's director of research and legal Dr Matt Hall joins Susie to discuss the ban.
