Most of the Hauraki Gulf would see bottom trawling and Danish seining banned under the government’s proposed changes, with these bottom‑contact methods only allowed in a few tightly defined “trawl corridor” or bottom fishing access zones instead of across the wider gulf.

What’s being proposed

  • The proposals focus on restricting bottom fishing methods that contact the seafloor , particularly bottom trawling and Danish seining.
  • Instead of being allowed almost everywhere, these methods would be confined to limited zones called bottom fishing access zones / trawl corridors.
  • In practice, this means bottom trawling and Danish seining would be banned from most of the Hauraki Gulf shallower than 200 metres , with only a small proportion left open for these methods.

Example of the scale

  • One consultation option proposed banning Danish seining from around 79–87% of the gulf shallower than 200 m and trawling from around 82–89% of that area, leaving only a few zones where they could still operate.
  • Later policy announcements confirmed the shift in default: bottom trawling and Danish seining banned across the gulf except in specifically designated trawl corridors.

Why these methods

  • Bottom trawling and Danish seining tow gear along the seafloor, which can damage benthic habitats such as sponges, corals, and other seafloor communities.
  • The proposals aim to reduce cumulative habitat damage and help restore the ecological health of the Hauraki Gulf while still allowing lower‑impact methods like line fishing in much of the area.

So, to answer the question directly: the type of fishing that would be banned in most of the Hauraki Gulf under the government’s proposals is bottom-contact commercial fishing methods, especially bottom trawling and Danish seining.

TL;DR: Under the new proposals, bottom trawling and Danish seining would be banned across most of the Hauraki Gulf, allowed only in a few designated bottom fishing access zones instead of being permitted almost everywhere as before.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.