Beneath the waves, beneath the lies
We’re sometimes contacted by fishers who share their love for Hector’s dolphins and the sea. They’re out there on the water, fishing inshore dolphin habitat and encounter these special ocean dwellers swimming around their boats where they drop their nets. The fishers tell us they don’t ever want to kill Hector’s dolphins, and that they’re devastated when they do. We’ve also been told by some industry operators that they’d exit the inshore fishery if they were given financial support to do so.
The fishing industry bosses and the government let down those fishers, the dolphins, me and you, and future generations. Because no dolphin should be drowned in a fishing net. And yet still they do.
Bottom trawling killed 12 Hector’s dolphins in the last fishing year. Set nets killed another three, plus three hoiho - yellow eyed penguins, which face functional extinction on the mainland.
Weak regulation, politicians in the thrall of the industry, and industry leaders who don’t actually lead, are causing grief to us all.
So when we met with Lisa Futschek, CEO, and Tiff Bock, the Inshore Fisheries manager of Seafood NZ a few weeks ago, we suggested they should make the case to the Government for a financial incentives package to move the fishing industry out of Hector’s dolphin habitat. That would be better for the fishers, for the dolphins, and also for all the other bycatch - hoiho, sea lions, seals and seabirds, all also victims of indiscriminate fishing practices.
The industry won’t always have a cheerleader crony as Oceans and Fisheries Minister. (Shame Jones). Their social license to operate is waning as bycatch continues at unacceptable, unsustainable levels. They just can’t go on like this. The industry can instead be part of the solution, and support a more sustainable future for its members, one that doesn’t drive endemic species to extinction.
But meanwhile, industry PR continues to try and tell the world that it’s benign and that they’re not really destroying the life supporting capacity of the oceans with bottom trawling. They recently released a video ‘beneath the waves’ which made out that there’s only mud and sand on the sea floor and that their fishing methods are selective and harmless. We felt the video needed some corrections to get beneath the lies - you can view it here.
You can also call on the fishing industry to stop bottom trawling in Hector’s habitat by signing and sharing our petition here.
And thanks to all of you who support our work with donations large and small. If you’d like to help our work, our bank details are MAUI’S AND HECTOR’S DOLPHINS EDUCATION / ACTION and the number is 38-9012-0678151-00.
Thanks for standing up for dolphins and the beautiful oceans that make up our planet. Together we are stronger
Posted: 21 July 2025