New Zealand Seafood Industry Council’s chief executive, Owen Symmans said that the accidental capture of a number of common dolphins by trawl fishing in December last year is regrettable. He added that nobody wants to catch dolphins, common or otherwise, and fishermen generally avoid this type of incident.
According to him all the fishermen are well aware about the importance of dolphins and so they try to avoid such situation. Therefore, the industry has decided to supports and endorses following the Marine Mammal Operating Procedure, which minimises accidental capture of dolphins during trawl fishing, opined Symmans.
Symmans said that whenever the fishermen locate any dolphins during their catch they move their vessel away from the area they are fishing. According to him the industry is, and will remain, committed to employing mitigation techniques and measures to avoid this type of interaction. It is fact that the by catch numbers of dolphin fluctuate widely annually but average at around 20, expressed Symmans.
It is true that the common dolphins are abundant but precise population estimates are largely unknown and they are classified as ‘not threatened’, the lowest level on the endangered classification ranking. The Seafood Industry is taking right steps to preserve the dolphins in New Zealand waters by managing its catch risks.
