New initiatives put forward by New Zealand’s seafood industry to further protect the country’s endangered Māui dolphins have been welcomed by government.
Proposed changes by companies Moana New Zealand and Sanford cover the area from Maunganui Bluff in the North to the Whanganui River Mouth and include: no set nets in the area north of New Plymouth; from October 2017 fishers will install full electronic monitoring; and there will be a transition away from conventional trawl fishing methods.
There are already fishing protections over a large part of the Māui dolphin distribution, and these new steps will provide even greater reassurance and protection, said Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy.
“We have been discussing these options with industry for the last 18 months, so it’s pleasing to see them taking a proactive, precautionary stance and committing to working with the government,” he said.
“Over the next few years we’re also rolling out the integrated electronic monitoring and reporting system (IERMS), which includes cameras, geospatial monitoring and electronic reporting on every commercial fishing vessel. The move by these fishing companies to adopt this technology early is a big vote of confidence.
“We are pleased that a number of the measures reflect proposals in the ‘Future of our Fisheries’ program that is currently being consulted on – including the electronic monitoring and use of innovative trawl technologies.”
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry said the measures were an important step to further protect the Māui dolphin.
“While the recently completed scientific survey carried out over the last two years showed encouraging signs the population has stabilized, with an estimate of 63 adults, there is no dispute the Māui dolphin is critically endangered and the government remains committed to ensuring its long-term survival,” she said.
More than 1,700 sq km off the west coast of North Island have been closed to trawl net fishing since 2003, and over 6,200 sq km closed to set netting.
Since July 2012 there has been mandatory observer coverage on all commercial set net vessels operating offshore out to seven nautical miles in the Taranaki region, and since March 2014, there has also been increasing observer coverage on the trawl fleet north of Taranaki.
Over NZD 2 million (USD 1.4 million, EUR 1.3 million) has been invested in research to ensure the best science-based decisions are made for future protection of Māui dolphins.
