Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley has put the survival of the endangered Hector’s dolphin at stake by lifting netting restrictions on commercial fishers in the South Island. According to the environmentalists the government should protect both Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins from net fishing throughout their range to give the rare species their best chance of survival. The press release of the fisheries ministry said that Heatley exempted commercial fishers of butterfish from the set net prohibition on the east coast of the South Island, after legal action taken by the Federation of Commercial Fishermen and others.
The minister also ordered officials to advise him whether a similar exemption may be warranted for recreational anglers using set nets to catch butterfish in the same area, and his ministry will soon release a consultation paper. But Green Party oceans spokesman Gareth Hughes said today said the minister had been sitting on the review but made a “political” decision to release it late on the Friday of the Christchurch memorial day, in order to “bury” the news.
The population of Hector’s dolphins was just over 8000 and Heatley should base decisions on a “precautionary principle” to actions which might further erode the species’ chances of recovering to healthy population levels. Heatley decided to keep a ban on commercial fishing using set nets in the area between four and seven nautical miles from the shore on the North Island west coast.
