Warning that proposed fishing ban to save rare dolphins 'will wipe out Taranaki fishing industry'

Monday, 9 September 2019

Taranaki seafood retailer Keith Mawson discusses the proposed Maui dolphin management plan with sister-in-law Jacqueline Bublitz.

Putting a stop to fishing off the Taranaki coast to save Māui's dolphin would impact hugely on families involved in the region's fishing industry, a New Plymouth woman has warned.

'I have a brother-in-law, brother, and cousin who have worked as fishermen for 20 years,' Jacqueline Bublitz, who is back in her home town for nine months, said.

Maui dolphin are distinguishable from other dolphin species by their rounded dorsal fin and small body.

'People who call for fishing to be banned to save the dolphins don't understand the effects it will have on people working, such as fishermen and processors.'

* Government plan to protect Māui and Hector's dolphins called a 'pathway to extinction'

* DOC says cat disease is threatening Māui and Hector's dolphin**

'I can understand these environmental groups have to do what they need to do to raise awareness, but they also need to see the other side of the story.'

Under the Hector's and Māui Threat Management Plan (HMDTMP) proposals, all inshore commercial set net and trawl fishing off the West Coast North Island (WCNI) would be banned up to 12 nautical miles along the 100-metre deep contour line, and the existing marine mammal sanctuary would be expanded.

The plan proposes extending current restrictions on trawling and set netting in areas where Hector's and Māui's dolphins live, placing further restrictions on seismic surveying and seabed mining in those areas, developing an action plan to address the threat from the disease toxoplasmosis, which has emerged as a significant threat, and placing a moratorium on commercial tourism permits to view Māui's dolphin.

Fisheries New Zealand and the Department of Conservation say Māui dolphin numbers are 'nationally critical' and there are estimated to be between 57 and 75 over the age of one left in existence.

Hector's dolphins, which number 15,000, are classified 'nationally vulnerable'.

The threat management plan has highlighted the impact that human-induced risks, such as fishing methods, disease, seismic testing and coastal development have on the survival of Hector's and Māui's dolphin around the New Zealand coastline.

In 2015 the International Whaling Commission called for the banning of gill netting and trawling in Māui's dolphin habitats.

The United States Marine Mammal Protection Act passed in 2017 could potentially ban fish imported from New Zealand if it came from a fishery where marine mammals, such as Māui's dolphin, were a bycatch.

Fisheries New Zealand estimate the economic impact of a ban on trawling and set netting from the proposals would be between is $15m-$35 million a year.

There had been two reported sightings of a Māui dolphin off Taranaki since 1989.

In 2009 a Māui dolphin was seen by recreational fishermen off Waiongana River, near New Plymouth Airport.

Previously DOC reported a Maui dolphin off the Taranaki coastline in 1989.

Fishing NZ estimated there were now 63 Māui dolphin surviving off the WCNI with the majority of sightings between the Kawhia and Kaipara Harbours.

Bublitz said much of the reasoning behind the ban was to enhance New Zealand's international reputation with trading partners.

'I don't think economic reasoning is a good enough reason to stop fishing and impact on the lives of decent people,' she said.

'These people who work in the industry are caring, they don't want to see dolphins die, they are not how social media portrays them to be.'

Bublitz's brother-in-law Keith Mawson said the management plan proposals were not supportive of regional New Zealand.

'Regional New Zealand is under attack while many of these people supporting a ban want to save the world,' he said.

'The inshore fishing industry is made up of small family-owned businesses who target specific fish species such as terakihi, gurnard and snapper.

'It (the ban) will wipe the out the whole inshore fishing industry on the west coast of the North Island, the small family owned businesses will disappear, and regional New Zealand will be eating imported fish.'

Mawson said the biggest risk facing Māui dolphin was not fishing but toxoplasmosis.

The disease has been sourced back to cat faeces washed into waterways and is a worldwide threat to coastal fish life.

Māui dolphin are more susceptible because they inhabit coastal river mouths, he said.

Mawson believed the proposals would be more effective in saving the dolphins if they were focused on areas where the majority of sightings have been recorded, namely between Kawhia, Manukau and Kaipara harbours.