We call on the Seafood Industry to stop bottom trawling in Hector’s habitat.
Bottom trawling killed 12 Hector’s dolphins in the 2023-4 fishing year. All were on the East Coast of the South Island, and all were in shallow waters, by trawlers working at slow speeds close to shore. Half of them were within two nautical miles of shore. On at least four occasions, the same fishing boats killed Hector’s dolphins then went out and killed more. In five instances, the fishing industry ignored ‘closed’ areas where dolphins had already been killed.
Bottom trawling is unacceptable anywhere. It ploughs up the seabed, releases climate killing carbon dioxide, destroys coral gardens, but it’s also wiping out Hector’s dolphins.
Some Hector’s dolphin populations have only around 40 animals. No dolphin should be killed in a fishing net, and surely no fisher wants to actually kill them. The Minister for Oceans and Fisheries says there’ll be no bottom trawling controls during his watch. The industry itself must take the appropriate action, and do good by the dolphins and the fishers, and stop bottom trawling in Hector’s dolphin habitat.