New Zealand’s rarest dolphins, Hector’s and Māui, face extinction from the use of gill nets and trawl nets and the expansion of off-shore mineral exploration and mining.
The government has granted oil and gas exploration licenses for marine areas where these threatened dolphins are struggling to survive.
Māui dolphin, a sub-species of Hector’s dolphin, is the world’s rarest, and is down to fewer than 55 individuals that live along the North West coast of the North Island, between Dargaville and Whanganui.
The Internet Party will:
-
Take action to protect Hector and Maui dolphins throughout their habitats, including the conservation corridor between the North and South Island dolphin populations.
-
In all areas where these dolphins are found, offshore to the 100 metre depth contour, we will ban new mineral exploration, ban fishing methods known to cause dolphin mortality (gillnets and trawling) and help the fishing industry make the transition to dolphin safe fishing methods (such as fish traps, hook and line methods).
-
Establish marine traffic limits, community education programmes and support more research where needed as well as offer support to environmental groups who work to save the dolphins, such as: Forest and Bird, Greenpeace, Kiwi Kids Care, NABU, New Zealand Whale and Dolphin Trust, Pacific Whale Foundation, Project Jonah, Whale and Dolphin Conservation and WWF.
Further Details
-
Hector’s dolphin is endemic to the coastal waters of New Zealand, according to the Society for Marine Mammalogy.
-
It is estimated thatthere are only about 7,000 Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins left, compared to between 21,000 and 29,000 in the 1970s. New research confirms Maui dolphins could face extinction by 2031. A 2014 report said in the past three years the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission had issued urgent recommendations about the need to protect the dolphins from fishing nets.
-
Dolphin deaths in gillnet and trawl fisheries have been responsible for the majority of human-induced mortality of Hector’s and Maui dolphins. Nationwide, 110-150 Maui and Hector’s dolphins are still caught each year in gillnets, with a similar number caught in the trawl fishery.
-
Conservation management for Hector’s dolphin consists of a complex mix of protected areas created in 1988, 2003 and 2008. However, the dolphins are still unprotected or very poorly protected in many areas. For example, the Hector’s dolphin population on the north coast of the South Island is completely unprotected. Also there is an exemption zone south of Kaikoura, allowing gillnets to be used close to shore. Two dolphins have been killed by gillnets in this exemption zone.
-
In June, 2014, Conservation Minister Nick Smith admitted there have been sightings of Maui Dolphins in areas opened for oil and gas exploration, but denied he misled Parliament when he said not a single Maui Dolphin had been sighted inside an area opened up by the Government for oil drilling as part of its 2014 Block Offer, which includes more than 3000 sq km of the West Coast North Island Marine Mammal Sanctuary.
-
Hector’s dolphins also face further impacts including tourism, pollution and habitat modification. Boat strike is a known cause of Hector’s dolphin mortality, while the presence of tourist vessels has been demonstrated to cause behavioural changes. Researchers have reported bio-accumulation of organochlorines and heavy metals in Hector’s dolphins. Additionally, the species faces pressures placed on coastal habitat through activities such as aquaculture and mining.
-
This policy statement should be read in conjunction with the Internet Party’s Environment Policy.