How do we know it’s working?

Advocacy, as many comms and marketing folk know, is often hard to measure. But, when a country’s laws are created or changed because of the work of those advocates, a line can be drawn between the things they did, and the difference it has made.

We backed Live Ocean Foundation from the start who, alongside WWF New Zealand (who we also fund), have campaigned for improvements to fishing methods to protect the seabirds of Aotearoa – particularly the Antipodean albatross, which was predicted to be extinct within 20 years.

As reported in RNZ:

Commercial fishers using surface longline fishing methods will soon have to choose between two options to ensure they can continue fishing.

They must use special hook shielding devices. Alternatively, they must simultaneously use three measures – use bird scaring devices called tori lines (streamers), line weighting to sink hooks faster, and set their gear at night. The new rules, which come into effect on 1 October 2024, aim to protect critically threatened albatrosses and other seabirds from being caught accidentally.

The announcement was made by the Department of Conservation and Fisheries who are helping the industry with the transition. The measures are predicted to virtually eliminate seabird bycatch. The move comes after the Ministry for Primary Industries released data reported by the commercial fishing industry that showed a stark increase in by-catch. The increased reporting came within the same time period that 127 vessels had cameras installed to monitor activity.

The reporting from Aug 2023 – April 2024 showed dolphin captures had increased seven-fold since the cameras were introduced, compared to the period from 2018 prior to the rollout. Albatross interactions had more than tripled.

The new rules have been celebrated by many who have campaigned for a long time for these improvements. So, the future's looking brighter for this chick. A living reminder of our responsibility to better protect the marine environment.

Image: Live Ocean Foundation – Antipodean Albatross chick