Government plan to protect Maui and Hector's dolphins called a 'pathway to extinction'

Monday, 17 June 2019

A new plan is being prepared to try and save diminishing Māui and Hector's dolphins.

But not everyone's happy about the plan, with Greenpeace calling the proposal 'a pathway to extinction' for the world's rarest dolphins. 

The Government has released proposals for consultation on a revised Threat Management Plan to protect the dolphins, including a raft of new protection ideas. 

Māui dolphins are critically endangered with only an estimated 63 dolphins remaining, and the Hector's Dolphin population has declined rapidly, from 29,000 45 years ago, to 10,000 to 15,000 now.

**READ MORE:

* Last gasp of a dying dolphin. Are we too late to save Māui?

* Department of Conservation's threats report 'flawed system', say marine advocates

* On-board cameras could put fishing industry in balance

* Good news for southern right whales, but others remain at risk - report**

Greenpeace senior campaigner Steve Abel said the United Nations had confirmed New Zealand is in an ecological crisis with more native species at risk of extinction than any other country, and the options for dolphins didn't go far enough. 

'We're living through the world's sixth mass extinction. Māui and Hector's are at the top of the threatened lists.

'It's thirty seconds to midnight for these creatures yet the Government is still offering half measures to protect them.'

The lack of ambition for Hector's was 'frankly depressing', he said. 

'It's as if the Government is waiting until Hector's dolphins plummet into nationally critical territory like Māui before taking action.'  

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage said the new Government had acted 'as promptly as possible'. 

'We need to act now to ensure their populations increase and both species thrive,' Sage said. 

The discussion document released Monday includes proposals to extend the boundaries of the West Coast North Island Marine Mammal Sanctuary south to Wellington, and extending the Banks Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary to extend north to Kaikōura, south to Timaru, and offshore to 20 nautical miles.

Other threats are identified in the document, including the toxoplasmosis illness and sub-lethal threats such as seismic surveys and seabed mining. 

The proposals also include DoC developing an action plan to deal with toxoplasmosis, a disease that can affect dolphins and other marine mammals.

A moratorium on commercial tourism permits targeting Māui dolphins is also proposed to minimise the disturbance to the dolphins from boats.

University of Otago professor Steve Dawson said the proposals were based on 'flawed science' and the protection plans were piecemeal.  

'The plan states that disease is a much bigger problem than bycatch, despite no robust evidence this.' 

'Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) [has] almost certainly under-estimated how many dolphins are dying in fishing nets, due to very low observer coverage.'

Recently reported dolphin deaths including three and five dolphins caught in the same net, were inconsistent with MPI's estimates, he said.

Last week, the Government announced cameras on fishing vessels in high-risk areas. 

Minister of Fisheries Stuart Nash said the proposals in the plan were part of a programme of changes for fisheries this year. 

'Fisheries understand that if they are to get trust in confidence in the global market they need to do what's right.' 

It was 'a balancing act' to balance business with conservation, he said. 

'No one wants to pull up a dolphin … the fishing industry understand what we're doing and why we're doing it.' 

Depending on consultation, the 'full extreme' impact on the industry would be $12 million per year, he said. 

To find out more about the options, and how to have your say, go here. Consultation closes on August 4.