Microplastics are found in a quarter of New Zealand’s fish, a large proportion of endemic seabirds and marine life are endangered, and warm waters are becoming uninhabitable for endemic species. , according to the government’s grim new report on the state of the country’s oceans. .
The environment ministry’s marine stocktake, released Thursday, shows the grim situation of endangered species. 90% of native seabirds, 82% of native shorebirds, 81% of assessed marine invertebrate species, and 22% of marine mammal species are threatened with extinction or It turns out that it is classified as potentially endangered.
More than 4,100 seabirds were killed annually by longline fisheries, and warming and acidifying seas were making taonga (valuable) species uninhabitable and impacting traditional Maori food sources. . Data in the report show that ocean acidification increased by 8.6% between 1998 and 2020, global water temperatures are rising, and ocean heatwaves are becoming more frequent and severe.
Environment Minister David Parker said: “It is correct to say that the report paints a sober picture. He cited emission cuts as an example of government action to alleviate some of the pressure on the marine environment. pointed out the plan, the ban on single-use plastic bags, and the freshwater management plan.
For some of the measures in the report, the situation either improved or remained the same.In the national measures against nutrient pollution in the form of nitrogen and phosphorus, more sites showed a trend of improvement rather than a deterioration. rice field.
But Green Party spokesperson Eugenie Sage said the report “represents what governments have neglected for decades when it comes to the health of our oceans.”
“The health of our oceans is deteriorating at an alarming rate and we are in danger of losing valuable habitats forever,” she said, calling for stricter fishing regulations, single-use plastic We called for a ban and expansion of plastic products. sea sanctuary.
Conservation group Forest and Bird called the findings a “crisis” and said, “The true scale of the crisis affecting our oceans could be much more serious, because most marine mammals The extinction risks facing , fish and invertebrates remain unclear.”
‘Aotearoa New Zealand is an island nation…we depend on the health of our marine ecosystems,’ said Nicola Toki, Chief Executive Officer of Forest and Bird. “Fisheries are already suffering from the effects of ocean degradation and warming, depleting salmon stocks and declining hoki and crawfish populations.”
Toki called for urgent bipartisan political action “to give our oceans the protection they deserve.”
