Illegal fishing blamed for rare dolphin deaths

Published: 8:18PM Thursday February 23, 2012 Source: ONE News

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The conservation minister has condemned the actions of illegal fishermen who are believed to be behind the deaths of two rare Hector's Dolphins.

The two dolphins were found entangled in a fishing net on the beach near the Waimakariri River mouth yesterday, around 30km inside the northern limit of the Banks Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary.

"This should never have happened," Kate Wilkinson said.

"The marine mammal sanctuary is a key area for Hector's Dolphin and is designed to protect them. These dolphins were found on the beach well inside the sanctuary, which means there is a distinct possibility this was the result of illegal fishing activity."

The 413,000 hectare sanctuary covers Banks Peninsula and stretches north to the Waipara River.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has removed the bodies and started an investigation.

"This is a very unfortunate incident," Scott Gallacher, from MAF said.

"MAF would appreciate any information from the public about anyone using set nets in the area surrounding the Waimakariri River Mouth.

"Evidence suggests it is more likely to have been a recreational net than a commercial one."

Under fisheries legislation set netting is banned along most of the east coast of the South Island out to four nautical miles to protect the endangered dolphin.

Only 7000 Hectors remain in the wild, and they are only found off the coast of New Zealand. Around 900 are estimated to live around Banks Peninsula.

Conservation group Forest and Bird is calling for those responsible for these latest deaths to be prosecuted and punished.

"Hector's are one of the world's most endangered species of dolphins and the ongoing deaths in fishing nets threatens the survival of this magnificent species," Katrina Subedar from the group said.

"Every death of a Hector's dolphin is a tragedy because they are a long lived species and females take about eight years to reach adulthood and only produce one or two calves once every couple of years."