Dolphin protection measures not working in NZ...

Dolphin protection measures In New Zealand not working;

Measures to protect Hector's dolphins in NZ is not working says Otago Univ researchers because too many areas of the country left out.


Hector’s dolphin is found only in New Zealand. A management plan (called a “threat management plan” because the species is considered Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)) prepared by the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries and the Department of Conservation shows that deaths in fishing nets are the most serious impact on the species.

University of Otago researchers say the highly threatened Hector's dolphin population around New Zealand is still declining despite new protection measures implemented two years ago.

Associate Professor Liz Slooten says too many compromises were made in the protection package and too many areas of the country were not included in the measures.

?For example, Tasman Bay, Golden Bay and Taranaki were left out and in other areas dolphins are declining because protection does not go far enough offshore."

Ms Slooten says the number of Hector's dolphins still being caught in the likes of gill nets is too great for the population to cope. She says Hector's dolphin populations are still declining and the current protection measures will still result in about 600 dying by 2050.

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