Inshore trawling explained

In a special video and data visualisation proudly developed for the industry by the Federation, we've taken spatial data sourced from the Ministry for Primary Industries and processed it with a 3D map programme to show just how compact the inshore fishing trawl footprint is, and help visualise New Zealand’s highly managed, abundant fishery.

Watch more on YouTube

Fishing for the future

The sights and sounds of New Zealand's primary industries, like agriculture and horticulture, are never too far away. Pastures, fields, crops and stock yards are familiar to us. But it's not as easy to visualise our underwater commercial fishing footprint.   

In New Zealand, trawling is necessary because many of our fish (like flatfish, snapper, tarakihi, gurnard and rig) live on or near the bottom of the ocean. They breed, grow and sustain a healthy population near the seafloor so we fish for them there – reliably, efficiently and cost-effectively. In fact, around 75% of our commercial fish catches by volume are caught by trawling.  

Like any type of food production, bottom trawling has an impact. Our responsibility is to keep that impact to a minimum. 

When well-managed, trawling is a sustainable fishing method and there is no need to ban bottom trawling. 

Here is how we do this:  

  • Around 31% of New Zealand’s waters is closed to bottom trawling – an area more than four times the size of New Zealand’s landmass.

  • According to the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), bottom trawling happens in around 2% of New Zealand waters each year (versus 37% of land area for land-based food) and MPI analysis shows the area of seabed contacted by trawl gear has steadily decreased since 2008.

  • We continue to evolve our net technology to reduce impact. Our fishing nets are now lighter. Larger mesh means that smaller fish swim out. We use innovative bycatch mitigation methods, in net-tech and on-deck, to protect seabirds and other marine mammals. Wild trawl-caught New Zealand fish has a very small carbon footprint, smaller than other animal proteins, because fishing doesn’t require land, pesticides, fertiliser, antibiotics and almost no freshwater.

  • Cameras are on about 220 commercial inshore vessels and cover 85% of inshore catch – New Zealand has the largest fishing vessel camera programme in the world.

Our fishery is highly managed and abundant

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, in 2025 the Southwest Pacific (includes NZ) is the world’s second-most sustainably managed fishing region, second only to the Northeast Pacific. This shows the QMS is working.

Learn more about bottom trawling: