Dolphin advocates say Government's proposed protections are fundamentally flawed

Monday, 6 December 2021

WWF NZ researcher Amanda Leathers explains why Hector's and Māui dolphin are on the brink of extinction. (First published May 9, 2019)

Advocates are calling on the Government to ban set and trawl nets to protect Hector’s dolphins from extinction.

Fisheries New Zealand has been consulting on protection options for South Island Hector’s dolphins and submissions close at 5pm on Monday.

However, dolphin advocates say Fisheries officials' recommendations are “fundamentally flawed” and allow up to 80 deaths of Hector’s dolphins every year. There are about 15,000 dolphins remaining and are classified as nationally vulnerable.

The Government previously extended the bans on commercial and recreational use of set nets, but decided to consult on trawl closures off the north, east and south coasts of the South Island. Set nets are anchored to the sea floor with weights, while trawl nets are towed by a vessel.

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Hector’s dolphins are one of the world’s smallest dolphins and are mostly found around the South Island.

The proposals include a bycatch reduction plan to work with fishers to avoid all dolphin deaths, while allowing fishing to continue where possible.

It also includes expansion of trawl gear restrictions in Tasman and Golden bays, Pegasus Bay, Canterbury Bight to Timaru, and Te Waewae Bay, and a further closure to commercial and recreational set net fishing around Banks Peninsula.

Māui and Hector’s Dolphin Defenders chairwoman Christine Rose said the consultation should consider the risk of displaced fishing, as well as fishing in areas without protection from trawling at all.

She said the bycatch reduction plan was voluntary.

Hector’s dolphins are classified as nationally vulnerable, with only about 15,000 left.

“Instead of actually protecting the dolphins this would manage them to extinction, because it allows up to 80 Hector’s dolphin deaths a year,” she said.

Hector’s dolphins were once New Zealand’s most common, but had been “decimated by trawling and set nets”, she said.

“Every dolphin that dies in fishing gear dies an unnecessary and painful death. Because dolphins are social animals, this has impact on the wider group.

“Sometimes the wider group itself is entangled, and they all drown and die at once. Other times pregnant females are caught.

“If the sex ratio of subpopulations is skewed, the loss of females can have disproportionate effect.”

Rose said the options suggested were non-binding and a reflection of the Government’s inertia in stopping dolphins getting caught in nets and drowning.

“It’s time to prohibit set and trawl nets throughout the dolphin range once and for all,” she said.

Dolphin Defenders deputy chairwoman and Christchurch campaigner Genevieve Robinson said river mouths, harbours and estuaries should be protected from all forms of net fishing.

It was unfortunate the Department of Conservation and others were not part of the consultation document, which would have led to better advice, she said.

Māui dolphin and the New Zealand sea lion are on a countdown to extinction – so why do politicians drag their feet?

“It’s time to move beyond failed past voluntary efforts, and to reject unproven and unenforceable new ones.”

Fisheries New Zealand fisheries management director Emma Taylor said it had taken comprehensive steps to protect Hector’s dolphins as a precious taonga.

“It's important to note that the proposals currently under consultation follow already significant measures in place to protect Hector's dolphins.” she said.

Restrictions already introduced included a ban on drift netting.

The restrictions offered significant protections from fishing by closing 16,525sqkm of New Zealand’s coastline to set netting, and imposing trawl gear measures over 6988sqkm of the coastline.

She said it was not correct to characterise the proposed bycatch reduction plan as voluntary as many of the measures under the proposals would be mandatory, including the phased introduction of cameras on all fishing vessels that pose a potential risk.

The first stage of on-board cameras had been delivered and as a result, cameras were deployed on 20 set-net and trawl vessels operating off the west coast of the North Island, where the critically endangered Māui dolphin are found.