{"id":1776,"date":"2013-07-09T13:20:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-09T01:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/new-zealand\/press-release\/new-zealand-sits-idly-by-as-the-mauis-dolphin-slips-towards-extinction\/"},"modified":"2024-07-12T15:29:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T03:29:00","slug":"new-zealand-sits-idly-by-as-the-mauis-dolphin-slips-towards-extinction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/new-zealand-sits-idly-by-as-the-mauis-dolphin-slips-towards-extinction\/","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand sits idly by as the Maui’s dolphin slips towards extinction"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

The back-and-forth on Maui\u2019s dolphins between Government departments, released under the Official Information Act and reported by the Dominion Post<\/a> over the weekend, is gravely concerning for two reasons.<\/p>\n

Firstly, the Ministry of Primary Industries is overstepping its mandate and determining New Zealand\u2019s vote on (or to be precise, against<\/em>) protection for New Zealand\u2019s unique and critically endangered Maui\u2019s dolphin. The latest population estimate showed only 55 breeding adult Maui\u2019s remain, making this the rarest dolphin in the world. This is undoubtedly an issue that should be led by the Department of Conservation, which in the past decade has carefully rebuilt the kakapo population<\/a> from a similarly low level.<\/p>\n

Secondly, the Ministry of Primary Industry\u2019s insistence on a \u201cno\u201d vote by New Zealand \u2013 making us the only country to vote against<\/a> the IUCN protection motion \u2013 makes a mockery of the public consultation process the Government has undertaken. An abstention, advised by the Department of Conservation, would have indicated a Government genuine in its consideration and consultation on the options for protecting Maui\u2019s dolphins. However, to vote \u201cno\u201d to a motion that was based on some of the best-available science indicates a government that has already decided on a course of inaction. So did 70,000 public submissions \u2013 the overwhelming majority calling for stronger protection for Maui\u2019s \u2013 fall on deaf ears?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to know, when the Minister of Conservation still hasn\u2019t made a decision, six months after the public consultation<\/a>. With a species on the brink of extinction, we just can\u2019t afford such delays. It seems the Government has opted \u2013 whether consciously or by neglecting to make a decision \u2013 to sit by and watch the extinction of Maui\u2019s dolphins, which the International Whaling Commission advised may happen in the next 20 years<\/a> if protection is not increased. I wonder if the Ministry of Primary Industries ( which defended our response, or rather lack of it, to the IWC scientific Committee last month) will be quite so keen to take the lead when it comes to announcing at the IWC that New Zealand has become the first country to drive a marine dolphin to extinction.<\/p>\n

We know Maui\u2019s dolphins are on the brink of extinction. We know the main threat to their survival is bycatch in fishing nets, and we know their habitat range extends well beyond the limited areas where protection is currently in force \u2013 making it an urgent priority to extend that protection. If the government doesn\u2019t do this, New Zealand is going to be answerable for the extinction of the world\u2019s smallest and rarest marine dolphin. Let\u2019s not go there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The back-and-forth on Maui\u2019s dolphins between Government departments, released under the Official Information Act and reported by the Dominion Post over the weekend, is gravely concerning for two reasons. 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