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

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

Helen Clark accepts 150,000 signatures for dolphins

Helen Clark accepts 150,000 signatures calling for the protection of Hector‘s and Māui dolphins from fisheries

Berlin – Representatives of German conservation group NABU International, led by the organisation’s Chair Olaf Tschimpke, met with former Prime Minister Helen Clark in Berlin this week to discuss the need for greater protection of Māui and Hector’s dolphins. Ms Clark also accepted over 150,000 signatures petitioning Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage, and Minister of Fisheries, Stuart Nash to fulfil an immediate ban on gill netting and trawling across the dolphins‘ habitat.

Ms Clark was in Berlin to attend the German Council for Sustainable Development, for which Mr Tschimpke acts as Vice Chair.

"We are delighted to be able to present our petition Ms Clark in person and urge her and her party’s coalition partners to honour their pre-election promise of fully protecting the dolphins from harmful fishing methods as a matter of urgency, “said Tschimpke. “Unless this happens, Maui dolphins won’t survive.”
NABU International has been highlighting the dolphins’ dwindling numbers and actively pursued their protection for almost to a decade. Besides making representations to scientific forums, the organisation has funded and carried out Maui and Hector’s dolphin research and engaged in national and international awareness and education initiatives.

"The disastrous decline of Maui dolphins to around 50 individuals is simply a case of cause and effect," said Dr Barbara Maas, Head of Endangered Species Conservation at NABU International. “Less than 19 percent of their west coast North Island habitat is currently free of gillnets, while trawling is prohibited in less than five percent. An immediate and complete ban of these fishing methods across all of the dolphins’ habitat and transitioning affected fishermen to dolphin-safe fishing methods or alternative livelihoods is the only way to ensure the dolphins’ survival,” said Maas.
International experts agree. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. Like the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and the Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM), the IUCN has confirmed that the immediate and widespread expansion of existing protected areas across the dolphins’ entire habitat is essential to prevent their extinction.

"It is encouraging that two parties in New Zealand’s coalition government have pledged to do the right thing for the country’s only endemic dolphin and New Zealand’s increasingly dented environmental reputation," said Maas. “Unless they make good on their promise now, the small window of opportunity to save these exceptionally rare marine mammals will close for good.”

ends

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.

© 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.