Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Local Govt | National News Video | Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Search

 

March for Māui This Sunday, 1pm Silo Park, Auckland

March for Māui This Sunday, 1pm Silo Park, Auckland

A ‘March for Māui’ this Sunday at 1pm from Silo Park, Auckland, will add to pressure on the Labour-led government to keep the programme of installing electronic video monitoring on the fishing fleet and to do more to protect Māui and Hector’s dolphins from accidental entrapment in fishing gear.

Māui and Hector’s dolphins are among the world’s smallest and rarest marine dolphins, with some subspecies populations as low as around 63 adults (Māui) and 40 (South Island Otago ‘Pahu’ populations). They have experienced rapid decline since the 1970s, resulting in ‘critically endangered’ and ‘threatened’ status under the IUCN threat status classification, and repeated calls from the International Whaling Commission for New Zealand to do more to protect them.

Scientists say full habitat protection is required – out to about 100m deep or at least 12 nautical miles. Leading up to the last election, the parties now in the ruling coalition, vowed to improve protection, but both dolphin and recreational fishing advocates, say the government is betraying those promises and threatening to do less, not more.

The Minister of Fisheries, Stuart Nash, is considering canning the electronic video monitoring programme which would have improved transparency and accountability on the fishing fleet, providing better information about the capture and dumping of non-target, undersize fish and endangered species such as Māui and Hector’s and other marine mammals and sea birds.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

The ‘March for Māui’ is part of a wide expression of dissatisfaction in civil society about the government’s ‘broken promises’ and failure to oversee and regulate the fishing industry satisfactorily for sustainability purposes.

A 2014 economic report commissioned by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, found that more than 80% of New Zealanders wanted to see more protection for Māui and Hector’s dolphins, ‘but this government is suggesting doing less’ says Māui and Hector’s Dolphin Defenders Chairwoman, Christine Rose.

‘Protecting the fishing industry despite its proven waste and criminal by-catch, is more a priority than protecting critically endangered endemic dolphins’ says Mrs Rose.

‘We’ve lost progress on implementing the electronic monitoring scheme, despite it being critical to properly understanding trawling impacts on fish stocks and dolphin viability’. ‘There is evidence, and anecdotes from fishers about the scale of dolphins killed, that needs to be verified for consumers here and overseas to have confidence about the sustainability of our fishing sector’. ‘The absence of cameras undermines the ability for all sides to be confident of fishing impacts, and that regulation, monitoring and enforcement is in the best interests of fish stocks and other marine species survival’. ‘The Labour-led Government is seriously out of sync with its parties’ pre-election promises, and out of touch with what the public want’.

‘We call on the government to do more, not less, to protect Māui and Hector’s dolphins, and remain of the view that the Minister’s decision to delay and potentially withdraw electronic monitoring, is fatally flawed’.

‘Our march is accompanied by the installation of a large billboard condemning government inaction which is killing our dolphins, on Auckland’s Northern Motorway’. ‘It’s accompanied by petitions and lobbying from other NGOs such as WWF NZ, Forest and Bird, and LegaSea’.

Some in society question whether election donations from Talley’s and other conflicts of interests are having undue influence in fisheries management decisions. ‘We’ve heard allegations that Shane Jones, who has openly declared donations from Talley’s, is exerting pressure on Stuart Nash, affecting this decision’, says Mrs Rose. ‘Whatever Nash’s reasons, they’re scientifically and morally unfounded, unsustainable, and untenable if many of our endangered marine species are to survive –Māui and Hector’s but also sea lions and sea birds’.

‘That’s why we’ll be marching for Māui tomorrow, with effigies of Shane Jones and Stuart Nash, and will continue to pressure the government for better protection of Māui and Hector’s, in the interests of openness and accountability on the fishing fleet, and honesty and integrity in government’.
ENDS

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.