Greenpeace activists have blocked a Talley's fishing vessel in Nelson on Saturday and are calling for a ban on bottom trawling on seamounts.
Two activists have anchored a raft - dubbed the SV Limpet - alongside the trawler in opposition to Talley's continued bottom trawling on seamounts.
The raft is displaying a banning that says "Stop Bottom Trawling Seamounts", while activists in kayaks have also attached a large "Talley's Ocean Vandals" banner to the hull of the bottom trawling vessel. The Greenpeace activists are doing this to disrupt the vessel's departure from Port Nelson on Saturday morning.
But Talley's general manager of Deep Sea fishing Ben Holden said while Greenpeace interrupted the fuelling operations, the company remains on its normal schedule.
Greenpeace Aotearoa oceans campaigner Ellie Hooper said taking action against Talley's is necessary to protect the ocean's biodiversity.
"We can have a healthy and thriving ocean again but we have to stop the worst types of fishing.
"Every year, Talley's sends a fleet of vessels out to bottom trawl seamounts, destroying vulnerable coral habitats in the process. In the middle of the biodiversity crisis - bottom trawling seamounts is indefensible."
Greenpeace is calling on Oceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker to ban bottom trawling on seamounts.
"We are here today to disrupt Talley's activities - because they continue to bottom trawl seamounts, and the government has not taken action to stop them," Greenpeace activist Jessica Desmond said from aboard the raft attached to Talley's bottom trawling vessel.
"Today we're calling on David Parker to ban bottom trawling on these biodiversity hotspots. To protect the health of the ocean, bottom trawling on seamounts must stop.
"New Zealanders are already on board. Over 70,000 people have signed petitions calling for a ban on bottom trawling and recent polling shows nearly 80 percent of respondents want the practice banned."
However, Holden said the views stated about the seafood sector by Greenpeace are "not reflective of reality".
"They are highly exaggerated and designed to misinform and mislead the public around bottom trawling, which is a very tightly controlled and sustainable way of producing a healthy high quality food.
"Our industry is very concerned to ensure sustainability in all it does. The livelihoods of our staff, our companies and our consumers depend on ensuring we have a healthy fish population for life."
Holden said they respect the right for people to air their opinions and protest but "we do not respect the right to put people, operations or property in danger".
He said while the trawler was under a refuelling flag, Greenpeace vessels had "interfered with Talley's fuel protection measures, as well as the safety of crew and their own people by crossing over these barriers during fuelling operations".
"Our staff have no desire for any confrontation with Greenpeace and trust that they will not interfere with our vessel operations any further or put any people at risk of injury," he said.
Hooper said seamounts are "the building blocks of ocean life, forming essential breeding grounds for fish and a home for unique species".
"Fragile and slow growing coral live there - often called 'the kauri of the deep'. When companies like Talley's drag large weighted nets over seamounts they don't just catch fish, they bulldoze through everything in their path and net huge amounts of other species. Research shows these trawled areas may not recover in our lifetime."
