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Gill nets unsustainable – Forest and Bird

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Gill nets unsustainable – Forest and Bird

3News NZ

Maui's dolphins are highly endangered

Maui's dolphins are highly endangered

Forest and Bird says the fishing industry does not need to be sacrificed in order to protect our rarest dolphins.

The Government is extending a ban on commercial set nets between two and seven nautical miles from the shore along the Taranaki coast in a bid to prevent more deaths of the critically endangered Maui's dolphins

The new rules apply from Pariokariwa Point down to Hawera.

Forest and Bird advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell says it's not enough but that further measures needn't threaten the fishing industry.

“For the fishermen it’s not a matter of saying you can’t fish for your quota, it’s saying change your technique - gill nets are the most indiscriminate, most unsustainable method we’ve got,” says Mr Hackwell.

He says there needs to be a ban on gill nets across the entirety of the Maui's dolphins' habitat.

It is estimated there are only 55 adult Maui’s dolphins remaining in the wild.

3 News/RadioLIVE

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Comments

8/07/2012 7:00:44 p.m.

atrout wrote:

Kevin Hackwell doesn't need that facts - we represents Forest and Bird. Forest and Bird used to be a fine tramping club with a strong connection to NZ's bush and its conservation. Now they come across as eco-nutters. A shame really because they have lost their mana.

8/07/2012 3:54:40 p.m.

atrout wrote:

There is no way at all, with a total net ban or any other option to save the Maui Dolphin. The population is just too small to survive. Why not do something else for the marine environment that is actually well thought out and attracts wider interest in marine conservation and the role that humans play with our oceans, Outright bans are simply dumb. We can do better.

29/06/2012 12:03:54 p.m.

Martin wrote:

I can not recall any media item showing the population being reduced by set netting. Common Sense is quite right with an extremely small environmental impact, CO2 or otherwise (Anti-fowling, repairs etc). Compared to one joe public car and its occupants it is tiny and it feeds people too.

29/06/2012 9:16:54 a.m.

common sense wrote:

Kevin Hackwell obviously doesnt know much about the method of setnetting. When properly done it is a very selective method that does little damage to the enviroment, is low on fuel use so has low carbon emmissions.