Posts Tagged ‘New Zealand dolphin’
Urgent step change needed to stop dolphins suffering in fishing nets
Does sustainably caught fish mean no harm has come to dolphins? The quick answer to that question is ‘no’. If you buy fish with a ‘sustainably caught’ or ‘dolphin safe’ eco-label, unless caught with a pole and line, you have no way of knowing whether dolphins, porpoises or whales suffered and died in the process…
Read MorePhilip Hoare reflects on New Zealand dolphins
Acclaimed writer, broadcaster and WDC ambassador, Philip Hoare has recently returned from a trip to New Zealand where he was fortunate enough to come across both sperm whales and endangered Hector’s dolphins. Collectively known as New Zealand dolphins, Hector’s and Māui dolphins are dying in fishing nets at a catastrophic rate. Unless we take action,…
Read MoreNew Zealand High Court reverses plan to mine in endangered dolphin habitat
Following public outcry and representation from environmental groups, including WDC, the Wellington High Court in New Zealand has reversed a previous decision by the country’s Environmental Protection Authority allowing up to 50 million tonnes of iron sand to be mined from a 66sq km area off the South Taranaki Bight for a 35 year period. The…
Read MoreMining exploration permit granted inside Māui dolphin sanctuary
A permit has been granted for mining exploration inside the West Coast North Island Marine Mammal Sanctuary, an area established to protect the critically endangered Māui dolphins. There are fewer than 60 Māui dolphins left and we must do everything we can to protect them. Please sign our petition now. WDC Australasia’s Mike Bossley said, ‘at this stage…
Read MoreNew Zealand government to undertake net review after dolphin deaths
The government in New Zealand is reviewing the use of commercial set nets (a type of gillnet that is attached to the seabed) after the deaths of five Hector’s dolphins in one net in February. The incident took place off the Banks Peninsula off the east coast of the South Island. A complete ban on…
Read MoreWhaling commission voices grave concern over Maui’s dolphin future
Scientists from the International Whaling Commission have voiced their “grave concern” for the endangered Maui’s dolphin, a sub-species of the New Zealand dolphin. Estimates for the number of remaing dolphins range from 43 to 69 with one researcher, Dr. Liz Slooten, predicting there could be just a few individuals left within a couple of decades.…
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