New Zealand widens fishing ban to save dolphins

Unable to detect the fine mesh, dolphins can quickly become entangled and drown. Now Maui’s numbers are so low they could be functionally extinct, unless they are given total protection. With only 111 individuals remaing, making Maui's dolphin the rarest marine dolphin in the world. Its South Island cousin, the Hector’s dolphin is less threatened, but has also suffered a heavy population decline from an estimated 26,000 in the 1970s to just 7,270 today.

Both Care For The Wild International (CWI) and World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) have pressured the New Zealand governmant hard over the last years to protect it's Maui’s dolphins and Hector’s dolphin populations which are on the brink of extinction.

The two organizations have the last few weeks sent out slightly different reponses to the NZ government's Threat Management Plan (TMP) for Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins.

- CWI does not deny that this is a step in the right direction, for which we commend the Government. However, the TMP provided a unique opportunity to ensure the survival of this endangered species, which New Zealand safeguards on behalf of the world. Instead, today’s decision falls short of what is required to appease fishing interests, said CWI’s Chief Executive Dr Barbara Maas in a pressrelease 29 May 2008.

- We’re thrilled the government has finally acted. The new measures mean fewer dolphins will die in fishing nets, and that’s a strong first step, said Rebecca Bird, Marine Programme Manager for WWF-New Zealand on July 3rd 2008.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Cetacean Specialist Group (IUCN CSG) and the Society of Marine Mammalogy (SMM) too have called on New Zealand to take the strongest possible measures to ensure the survival of these endangered dolphins.