Protecting Hector’s is good for more than just dolphins
Fisheries NZ recently updated its quarterly bycatch report. Though ironically it’s not new, and it’s pretty bad. The report from April to June includes four Hector’s dolphins killed by trawlers on the South Island’s East Coast, which have already been reported on the Department of Conservation website. (So much for Fisheries’ transparency!).
But the Fisheries report also included a horror show of 149 marine mammals, 630 birds and five turtles caught, including 139 spotted shags killed in one trawl event. Spotted shags are already almost functionally extinct in the Hauraki Gulf, and they certainly can’t withstand these pressures elsewhere. Also on the list were 137 seals captured in those few months, up from 45 the previous quarter.
So while here at Māui and Hector’s Dolphin Defenders, we’re looking for more protection for New Zealand dolphins, in doing so, we’re looking to protect the rest of the marine environment too.
One of our recent significant achievements, for example, was a set net ban right along the North Island’s West Coast put in place to protect Māui dolphins. A great thing about that was that it has kept North island Hector’s, sharks, penguins and seals safe from set nets too. But they’re still at risk from trawlers.
That’s why our work continues, to protect Māui, Hector’s, and the other creatures they share the ocean with, safe, from all their human-caused threats, the worst of which are trawl and set nets.
We’ve just produced a whole lot of new outreach resources - fliers, stickers, posters and other goodies, to take to events around the country. And we’re rolling out our ‘Protect Hector’s’ campaign. A few weekend’s ago we were at Auckland’s Grey Lynn Park Festival talking with concerned New Zealanders and painting dolphins (pictured), though our planned events at Takapuna and Mission Bay beaches were postponed because of dismal weather. We’ll be at the Picton Maritime Festival on 18 January, in Nelson on 24-5 Jan, then down to Kaikoura, and Ōtautahi Christchurch on 31 Jan/1 Feb. We’ll be making our way down the island visiting Hector’s hotspots along the way, through Timaru, Oamaru, coastal Otago, Dunedin, the Catlins, and the South Coast.
If you’d like to help, we’d love to have you, send me an email for more details, and keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram pages. There will be many opportunities to get involved and support our work to protect Hector’s.
Another important way to help us, is to support us with a donation. Thanks to all of you who have given us funding so far. No amount is too small or too big, as we take on the powerful fishing industry.
You can donate to our work here.
And if you haven’t signed our petition calling on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to protect Hector’s from the fishing industry, it’s here too.
Protect Hector’s today, and preserve our oceans for good.
Thanks for all your support
Posted: 4 December 2024