New Zealand’s marine-related industries contributed NZD 4 billion (USD 2.9 billion, EUR 2.6 billion) to the country’s economy in 2013, according to a new report. At the same time, the country’s seafood industry continues to reduce its environmental impacts, particularly bycatch.
New Zealand’s marine economy accounted for nearly 2 percent of gross domestic product in 2013, along with 47,000 jobs, according to the Statistics New Zealand report.
While offshore minerals (mainly oil and gas extraction and exploration), was the largest contributor to the marine economy, at 48 percent in 2013, shipping contributed 24 percent and fisheries and aquaculture contributed 22 percent. An additional NZD 3.7 billion (USD 2.6 billion, EUR 2.4 billion) was estimated to have been generated through supporting industries, resulting in a total contribution of NZD 7.7 billion (USD 5.5 billion, EUR 5 billion) – 3.5 percent of the GDP.
The marine economy supported 102,400 jobs, of which 47 percent were in shipping and 46 percent were in fisheries and aquaculture.
“While New Zealand’s marine economy is slightly smaller than global estimates, it still constitutes a significant part of our economy,” Environmental Statistics Manager Danny Oberhaus said.
Meanwhile, a separate report from Statistics New Zealand and the Ministry for the Environment found that, while fishing puts pressure on the marine ecosystem and the environment, the industry has made great strides in improving marine life.
“There are some areas where we are seeing our use of the sea going in the right direction,” Secretary for the Environment Vicky Robertson said. “While bycatch remains a considerable threat to our marine life, there have been some significant inroads made in recent decades.”
For example, the number of dredge tows was slashed by 83 percent from 1997 to 2014, and trawl tows decreased 50 percent.
In addition, seabird commercial bycatch numbers decreased from about 9,000 birds in 2003 to 5,000 in 2014. The bycatch of fur seals dropped from an estimated 1,729 in 1999 to 490 in 2014 and the bycatch of sea lions fell from an estimated 143 in 1996 to 43 in 2014.
