9. Question No. 9—Oceans and FisheriesTEANAU TUIONO (Green) to the Minister for Oceans and FisheriesQuestion No. 9—Oceans and Fisheries9. TEANAU TUIONO (Green) to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries: What strategies if any are being implemented to protect marine wildlife from harmful fishing practices?Hon SHANE JONES (Minister for Oceans and Fisheries): I thank the member for that question. Around 12000 people are employed in the fisheries sector—$2.3 billion worth of exports for the current year. Strategies are being implemented that impact on the ability of the industry to mitigate. A national plan of action for seabirds a national plan of action for sharks a dolphin threat management plan and beyond that there is also an extensive regulatory set of measures to manage risks for specific species.Teanau Tuiono: Does official advice show that cameras on boats are an essential accountability measure and if so why is he planning to wind this back?Hon SHANE JONES: The roll-out of the cameras is continuing and obviously camera footage from time to time when it is tested is giving additional ballast to the models that the civil service already rely upon in terms of fisheries management.Teanau Tuiono: What advice if any has he seen on reasons why the reported number of dolphin captures has increased by 700 percent since cameras were put on boats?Hon SHANE JONES: Obviously a great deal of focus is now upon dolphins but inevitably when the fishing industry interacts with the sea of Tangaroa from time to time there will be captures. This is already in the model. It's called the wildlife interaction with industry. The Minister before me and other Ministers before her received advice as to how initiatives can be sharpened to lessen the impact on vulnerable mammals. One was recently seen in Rongotai on its way to the Chathams!Steve Abel: What measures if any will he implement to mitigate bycatch from surface long-line fishing given data shows that albatrosses are caught at a rate of 350 percent higher than reported by industry?Hon SHANE JONES: That question is a very good question. As of today officials at the leadership of the director-general are working through what additional measures should be pursued to ensure that trawl and long-line vessels are not indiscriminately or disproportionately having a deadening effect on albatrosses and other such birds. A pilot project is under way on the east coast of the South Island. No one on this side of the House is happy when an albatross disappears but once again technology is delivering results. The director-general and his team are ascertaining whether or not additional measures may be required to improve the ability of the fishing industry to cope with the occasional death of a seabird or a mammal.Steve Abel: Will he introduce fishing-related mortality limits or bycatch kill limits for leatherback turtles considering New Zealand vessels caught more turtles in 2021-22 than United States and Australian vessels combined?Hon SHANE JONES: I won't comment on either Australia or America other than to say on an ongoing basis the officials of the Ministry for Primary Industries on behalf of our Government are engaging with the industry. Indeed there are four occasions every year when such engagements take place. Engagement takes place also with civil society and a number of the green groups. Many of those suggestions will be taken on board but I repeat yet again: this is the wildlife industry. This is an industry that generates wealth well over $2 billion jobs well over 12000 and anyone who thinks there won't from time to time be a critter that goes by the way does not understand how wildlife industries function.