It is said that the set-net ban covers the entire Kaipara Harbour entrance, from Poutu Pt to South Head. According to Parker the new protection measures would improve maui dolphin survival prospects. The Hector’s and Maui’s Dolphin Threat Management Plan was designed by the Conservation Department and the Fisheries Ministry.
Parker also announced four new marine mammal sanctuaries where seabed activities in key dolphin habitats will be restricted or managed. According to him the new sanctuaries are in areas where the dolphins are known to frequently range – the west coast of the North Island for the maui’s dolphin, and Clifford and Cloudy Bay in Marlborough, Porpoise Bay and Fortress, Catlins Coast and Te Waewae Bay, South Coast for the hector’s dolphin.
But New Zealand Seafood Council CEO Owen Symmans says the plan will be disastrous and won’t save any more dolphins. He told that the dolphins are being effectively protected under measures put in place in 2003. Symmans says the government should be prepared to compensate for the huge personal losses.
Conservation Minister Chris Carter told that the dolphins are a national taonga and their future is grim unless impacts on the species are managed. Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton says measures were already in place to reduce the effects of fishing on the dolphins but concerns remained. But the World Wildlife Fund says the ban extension is a good first step but there is further to go to save the species.
Rebecca Bird, WWF marine prorgamme, after more than four years of sustained campaigning for their protection, the decision gives hector’s and maui’s dolphins a fighting chance for survival.
