Maui’s Dolphins Supporters In The Streets, And In Council Meeting Chambers

Maui’s dolphin campaigners are once again taking their quirky blend of conservation and activism into the public arena. This Friday from 11.45 campaigners will provide entertainment in both Auckland and Wellington, with a dancing dolphin flashmob. Dolphins will take to the streets while supporters hand out information leaflets to the public.

Meanwhile in the formal political sphere, considerable weight continues to build for better protection for these, the world’s smallest and rarest marine dolphins.

Last Friday the Manukau Harbour Forum voted for a comprehensive range of measures to protect the dolphins from indiscriminate fishing practices such as recreational and commercial gill netting within the Manukau Harbour and along the North Island West Coast out to 100 metres deep.

The Manukau Harbour Forum is made up of representatives from all the Local Boards surrounding and bearing on the Manukau Harbour. These include the Waitakere Ranges, Franklin, Tamaki, Mangere-Otahuhu Local Boards and others. Elected Board members at the Forum expressed concern at the Government’s failure to consult directly with either the Boards or affected fishing communities. “But they recognised the importance of saving the species, despite potential impacts on some local fishers” says campaigner Christine Rose who attended the meeting and made presentations to the Forum on the issue earlier in the year.

The call for wide protection of Maui’s dolphins and monitoring of their recovery progress was also supported by the Waitakere Ranges Local Board at their monthly meeting last night.

The recommendations of these Local Authorities will be forwarded to the Government as part of the submission process to the review of the dolphin’s Threat Management Plan. Submissions close on November 12.

Campaigner Christine Rose says these recommendations reflect years of similar support for better protection for the dolphins from locally elected representatives throughout the region. She says “the government’s consultation process risks being seen as a sham as the Ministry of Primary Industries and Department of Consultation have failed to meet with Auckland stakeholders’. ‘Earlier this year more than 30,000 people from New Zealand and around the world submitted in support of better protection and recovery for the dolphins. Science supports the cause. We can’t afford to lose a single additional Maui’s dolphins to human-induced threats after the spate of deaths in the last year. The Government must take action. This call is echoed by those directly accountable to the public, elected representatives in the Auckland Region. “
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Maui’s & Hector’s Dolphin Education Action Inc

Notes:

Maui’s dolphins are critically endangered and found only on the West Coast of the North Island. The Government is reviewing protection for the dolphins after a spate of deaths in the wider West Coast area in recent months. Earlier this year the Government implemented interim emergency protection measures which are currently being reviewed at http://www.mpi.govt.nz/news-resources/publications.aspx

Maui’s dolphin flashmobs leave Aotea Square at 11.45 in Auckland and 11.45 from the corner of Lambton Quay and Bowen Street in Wellington.

Submissions on the Maui’s Dolphins Threat Management Plan are due to the Ministry of primary Industries and Department of Conservation at MauiTMP@govt.nz and MauiTMP@doc.govt by Nov 12.

ENDS

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