IWC demands action on rare New Zealand dolphin

July 11, 2016

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has called on New Zealand to take urgent action to save the world's rarest dolphin from extinction, voicing "grave concern" about its future.

Population numbers of the Maui's dolphin, the world's smallest and scarcest sub-species found only in waters off New Zealand's North Island, have dwindled to less than 50, prompting fears it could reach the point of no return without strong action, including a ban on fishing in its habitat.

The IWC, in a report released over the weekend, said not enough was being done to prevent the dolphins becoming "bycatch" to the commercial fishing industry.

"The IWC scientific committee expressed continued grave concern over the status of this small, severely depleted sub-species," it said.

"Existing management measures in relation to bycatch mitigation fall short of what has been recommended previously."

The IWC said Wellington had been saying since 2013 that it was researching the issue, but it had not taken any steps to rectify it.

Barbara Maas, an endangered species specialist with conservation group NABU International, said the New Zealand government had repeatedly ignored the IWC's concerns.

"The science is clear, if nothing is done then the Maui's dolphin is gone," she told AFP.

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'Loud wakeup call' over critically endangered dolphin

By Helen Briggs

BBC Environment correspondent

7 hours ago 

The smallest and rarest marine dolphin in the world could be extinct within 15 years if protection is not stepped up, new research suggests.

Conservationists say the remaining population of Maui's dolphins has dropped below 50.

The critically endangered species is found only in waters off New Zealand.

Measures to prevent dolphins dying in fishing nets must be extended, according to the German conservation organisation Nabu.

Fishing should be banned across the dolphin's entire habitat rather than only limited areas, they say.

According to new estimates just 43-47 individuals, including about 10 mature females, are left.

The study is being presented at a meeting of the scientific committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in San Diego, US.

More than 200 experts are attending the annual event.

Read on ...

Thousands call for New Zealand to save Maui’s dolphins

More than 150,000 people have signed a petition calling for the New Zealand government to urgently protect the critically endangered Maui’s dolphin habitat before it is too late.

Maui's dolphins are the world's rarest and smallest known dolphin and are a subspecies of the Hector's dolphin. They are only found off the west coast of New Zealand's North Island and it is thought just 50 individual dolphins remain.

The petition urges the Government to implement the advice issued by the IUCN, including a motion that calls for a ban on gillnetting and trawling to a water depth of 100 metres throughout the dolphins’ habitat, before it is too late.

Conservation group NABU International presented the petition to the New Zealand High Commission in London.

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Critically Endangered Maui’s dolphin found dead

Possible Maui's dolphin death triggers investigation

September 2013. A dead dolphin, likely to be a critically endangered Maui's, has been found on the coast of New Zealand within the North Island West Coast Marine Mammal Sanctuary.

Just 55 adult dolphins alive

"I am saddened by this reported Maui's dolphin death because with an estimated population of just 55 adults, the loss of even one of these mammals puts at further risk the survival of their species," Conservation Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

"The location and visual description make it likely that it is a Maui's dolphin but we will not know for sure until formal identification occurs. Nor do we know whether the dolphin died from old age, disease, fishing or some other human cause. The currents in this area drift to the north so it is likely the death occurred somewhere around Kaipara Harbour, a common habitat for the Maui's dolphin.

"The dead dolphin was retrieved by DOC staff last night and is being transported to Massey University's specialist marine mammal unit in Palmerston North to establish as much information as possible. The information about the age, identity of the dolphin and cause of death is required so we can make the best possible decisions about protecting these special creatures.

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Government fiddles while Maui’s dolphins edge towards extinction

NZ Government proposals totally inadequate

September 2013. Forest & Bird says the minor changes the Minister of Conservation is proposing to make to the boundaries of an area closed to gill-netting off the North Island's West Coast are entirely inadequate, and will do little if anything to save the Maui's dolphin from extinction. 

The Minister is proposing to extend the zone south only as far as New Plymouth, from Pariokariwa Point, out to seven nautical miles. Scientists estimate that there are only 55 Maui's dolphins left. Forest & Bird is campaigning for a comprehensive Maui's dolphin sanctuary - in which gill nets, trawling, mining, and seismic testing would be banned - throughout the dolphin's habitat.

"The government's continual lack of meaningful action is risking the extinction of the Maui's dolphin. It has been over a year since we learnt that the population had reached such a critical level, and a year since a Maui's dolphin was found dead in a net. Yet still we don't have a final management decision," says Katrina Subedar, Forest & Bird Marine Advocate.

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New Zealand dolphin faces extinction, group warns

Scientists have urged New Zealand to take immediate action to protect the critically endangered Maui's dolphin, amid warnings the marine mammal could become extinct by 2030.

The animal, the world's smallest dolphin sub-species, is only found in waters off the North Island's west coast and experts estimate the adult population has dwindled to just 55, the US-based Society for Marine Mammalogy (SSM) said.

In a letter to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, it said scientific data showed up to five dolphins a year died after becoming entangled in fishing nets, meaning urgent action was needed for it to survive.

While the findings are disputed by commercial fishers, the SSM said the evidence was "exceptionally strong" and called for a ban on trawling and a fishing method known as gillnetting in its marine habitat.

"In a situation such as this one, involving a critically endangered sub-species, delay to resolve uncertainty could have dire, irrevocable results," SSM president Helene Marsh said in the letter dated February 11, seen Thursday.

"I encourage you to act quickly and decisively to provide the leadership in marine conservation that the world expects of your country."

The SSM, which represents 2,000 scientists from 60 countries, said the population of Maui's dolphin was so small that allowing any of them to be die as "bycatch" to the fishing industry made it unsustainable.

Read on: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/zealand-dolphin-faces-extinction-group-warns-051504165.html

New Zealand chastised by IWC for failure to protect world's rarest dolphins

International Whaling Commission criticises New Zealand over failure to protect Maui's & Hector's dolphins
July 2012. Hundreds of delegates from government and conservation groups are gathered in Panama at the 64th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) this week to discuss the future of world's whales.

Amidst the annual wrangling between pro- and anti-whaling fractions, there has also been occasion to consider the fate of the world's smallest and rarest marine cetacean, New Zealand's little known Maui's and Hector's Dolphins.

The IWC's scientific body urged New Zealand to take immediate steps to arrest the decade of decline of its only native dolphins, pointing out that current protection measures are inadequate in terms of the area and the fishing methods they cover.

Nylon nets led to edge of extinction
Since the introduction of nylon filament nets in the 1970s, Hector's dolphin numbers have dropped from 30,000 to around 7,000. The situation for Maui's dolphins, a subspecies of Hector's dolphins, is even worse. More than 94% are already lost and Maui's dolphins are now confined to very small remnant population on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. With just 55 survivors older than one year, less than 20 breeding females, and an annual decline of around three percent, Maui's dolphins are facing imminent extinction.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/mauis-iwc.html#cr

One of the world’s rarest dolphins found dead on New Zealand beach

Dead dolphin recovered in Taranaki died of natural causes

May 2012. The preliminary pathology report on the dead Hector's/Maui's dolphin recovered from a Taranaki beach last week has indicated that the animal died of natural causes.

The results of the post-mortem by Massey University have confirmed that the animal was an adult male in poor body condition and it appears that a combination of health problems had likely contributed to its death. Further tests are underway to confirm this.

There were no obvious signs of trauma and nothing to suggest that the dolphin was caught in fishing nets or any other human interaction. DNA samples have been taken to confirm whether the animal was a Hector's or a Maui's dolphin and those results could be at least two weeks away.

In February, the death of a Maui’s dolphin in a fishing net off the Taranaki coast in January was belatedly confirmed by the government. Conservation group Forest & Bird urged the Minister of Primary Industries  to use his emergency powers to extend a ban on gill nets – the greatest threat to the dolphins - to include the Taranaki coast.

“This latest death shows the tragic cost of failing to use these emergency powers. But the minister can still act now to prevent any further deaths,” Forest & Bird’s Marine Conservation Advocate Katrina Subedar said.

Last month DOC’s latest population estimate showed there were only around 55 Maui’s dolphins left – excluding calves under a year old. This showed the population had declined drastically since a population estimate in 2004. 

WWF-New Zealand is calling on the Department of Conservation to help protect the world’s remaining Maui’s dolphins by extending the boundary of the Marine Mammal Sanctuary further south and suspending all current mining and seismic activity in their habitat.

The Department of Conservation’s call for submissions on its interim proposal to extend the West Coast North Island Marine Mammal Sanctuary close today, 27 April.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/taranaki-maui.html

People 'worried' to report dolphin deaths

People are still afraid to report on dolphin deaths due to repercussions from the fishing industry, a University of Otago zoology professor says.

A critically endangered Maui's dolphin was found dead by a member of the public in Taranaki last week.

The dolphin, of which only 54 are believed to be left, was found by a member of the public on Thursday or Friday on a beach near Pungarehu, south of New Plymouth.

It was collected by the Department of Conservation and taken to Massey University for an autopsy.

It's not yet known if the dead dolphin is a Maui or closely related Hector's dolphin. A latest population survey found a couple of Hector's mingling further north than usual with the Maui's dolphin.

Otago professor Liz Slooten said it would be "hard to get information out of the tiny community of Parihaka''.

It would be the second Maui's dolphin found dead in Taranaki this year. Another, a female, was accidentally killed by a fisherman in January.

"It's only because of recent media attention and websites that people are realising how important this is.''

People were still scared of speaking up about dolphin deaths for fear of repercussions from the fishing industry, Slooten said.

A research student of hers saw up to five Hector's dolphins trapped a day in nets while working on a fishing boat. He was hesitant on reporting the incidents.

"His parents live in the area and it would take five minutes for someone to figure out who had reported it.''

While gill net fishing is banned in parts of Manukau and Kaipara harbours, it is not from north of New Plymouth to south Taranaki.

"As a biologist it's really frustrating,'' Slooten said.

"I've done surveys down there and wrote an article in 2005 to say the Maui is going much further south than the protected area.''

Read on:  http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6825782/People-worried-to-report-dolphin-deaths

Another of the world's rarest dolphins killed by a fishing net

New Zealand Minister must use emergency powers to save Maui's dolphinsMarch 2012. Forest & Bird conservation organisation has urged NZ Primary Industries Minister David Carter to step in and use his emergency powers to halt the slide of Maui's dolphins towards extinction.

A Maui's dolphin was killed in a set net in January off the Taranaki coast, where the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry had previously insisted the world's rarest dolphin did not occur.

"An unpublished Department of Conservation report estimates there are fewer than 80 Maui's dolphins remaining - which represents a 30 percent plunge in the population over the last six years," Forest & Bird Marine Conservation Advocate Katrina Subedar said.

"We have reached the stage where every death of a Maui's dolphin in a fishing set net threatens the future of the whole subspecies, so we believe the Minister has no choice but to introduce emergency measures immediately."

Under the Fisheries Act, the Primary Industries Minister has emergency powers that would allow him to temporarily extend the set net prohibition zone to include Taranaki while permanent protection measures are put in place. The current set net prohibition area - excluding Taranaki - was put in place along most of the upper half of the North Island's west coast in 2008 to protect Maui's dolphins from being killed in set nets.  


Read on:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/mauis-2012.html