Commercial fishermen are fighting a push by conservationists to extend the set net ban into Taranaki waters to protect the endangered Maui’s dolphins.
Fish and Bird are calling for the Government to extend the ban into Taranaki waters. The ban now runs along the coast from the North Taranaki bight to north of the Kaipara Harbour.
But Egmont Seafood managing director Keith Mawson said the Taranaki fishing community was strongly against the ban which he says unfairly singles out their industry and would put their livelihood at risk.
On Saturday hundreds of Raglan residents rallied to protest against seabed mining on the west coast of the North Island noting that the area was home to the small dolphin which is one of the world’s most endangered species.
The area Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) plans to mine runs from Whanganui to Port Waikato, almost the entire Maui’s habitat, the protesters say.
The march coincided with a meeting between the Australian mining company and the Raglan iwi to discuss plans to extract one billion tonnes of iron ore along the west coast.
A recent study by the University of Auckland found there were just 79 Maui’s dolphin left and of those only 20 were breeding females.
The local fishing community was an easy target for extremists, who called for a complete set net ban in Taranaki, Mr Mawson said.
“There are calls to save the dolphins yet there is simply not enough factual information about these species to make a call on this,” he said. “It’s like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut.”
There was one reported fishing-related death of a Hector’s or Maui’s dolphin in the Taranaki area in the last 25 years which was reported in January this year.
“Fishing is one factor but the industry and Government have already taken extensive measures to address this.
“What about all the other known factors including disease, pollution and natural predators such as sharks and orcas?
“We are concerned that Government is being pressured to make a call that will not deliver the results we all want, which is a thriving dolphin population.”
The industry met DOC and MAF last week to urge them to work with the industry and other interested parties to gather more information.
DOC had done little research on dolphins in Taranaki and had no recovery plan in place, Mr Mawson said.
New Zealand Seafood Council’s chief executive Peter Bodeker also attended the meeting. He said the fishing community wanted to help gather information and work with Government agencies to look at ways to identify and tag the marine mammals.
2012 Fairfax New Zealand Limited