A bid to ban marlin from restaurant menus in New Zealand is gaining momentum, with a leading recreational fishing group adding its weight to the calls.
New Zealand's oldest fishing club, the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club, started the nationwide campaign to help protect declining stocks of the fish, which it says are being ravaged by commercial fishing.
Now, at its latest AGM the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council adopted a supportive stance, and urged consumers not to buy marlin products and tell retailers and restaurants to take it off their menus.
It comes just days after US President Barack Obama signed into law the Billfish Conservation Act which will ban the importation of all billfish, including marlin, into the United States.
In 1988, the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club was instrumental in a memorandum of understanding under which commercial fishing companies agreed not to catch marlin in New Zealand waters.
But marlin caught outside New Zealand waters can still be sold here.
New Zealand has a world class recreational fishery for large striped marlin, with 24 of 26 line class world records caught in Kiwi waters, including the heaviest of 224 kg.
But marlin, as well as yellowfin tuna fish stocks, have been dwindling for several years.
The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council and the Bay of Islands Swordfish Club say taking marlin off the menu will send a clear message to businesses and the Government that anglers are serious about protecting the fish.
Russell's Duke of Marlborough Hotel has already backed the boycott.
