Emergency closure for hoiho welcome but falls short

The Environmental Law Initiative (ELI) says today’s announcement of an emergency three-month closure of set-net fishing around the Otago Peninsula by Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones will protect some hoiho, while leaving others unprotected.

ELI welcomes the closure but says it is concerned the closure covers only part of hoiho nesting habitat, leaving much of the population exposed to the risk of being caught as bycatch elsewhere.

“There are nesting hoiho around Rakiura Stewart Island, in Southland, and north of the Otago peninsula, why are those hoiho not protected?” says ELI’s Director, Research and Legal, Dr Matt Hall.

The hoiho population has collapsed by 80% since 2008, from 739 breeding pairs to just 143. ELI was made aware of a further 3 hoiho deaths due to fishing in the second quarter of 2025.

“The collapse of the population is such that even a single death caused by fishing could have a disproportionate impact on the survivability of hoiho.

“We have not yet seen the specific details of this closure, but on the face of it, the Minister’s decision does not go far enough to protect the northern population of hoiho from the brink of extinction. It is incomplete.

“For a species on the edge of extinction from the mainland, near enough is not good enough,” Dr Hall said.

“Adverse effects must be avoided wherever possible, and where harm has already occurred, it must be remedied. Only then will hoiho have a genuine chance to survive and thrive once more.”

Dr Hall says the Government should be putting in place a plan that will allow hoiho to recover and maintain a healthy population.