Dolphin debacle

FISH NEWS EU

WWF claims that yesterday’s measures, launched by the New Zealand government in a bid to save the remaining 55 Maui’s dolphins from extinction, are destined to fail.

“There are now fewer Maui’s dolphins than kakapo left in the world,” said Rebecca Bird, WWF-New Zealand’s Marine Programme Manager. “And yet this decision means the government is knowingly allowing a method of fishing that kills dolphins to go ahead in their habitat. Instead of seizing the opportunity to give Maui’s the best chance for survival and population recovery, these measures are simply not enough to protect the species from extinction,” she said.

The interim measures will minimally increase protection on the Taranaki coast south from Pariokariwa Point to Hawera, including extending the set net ban out to 2-nautical miles and allowing the use of commercial set nets between 2 to 7 nautical miles when an observer is on board.

However, WWF say that the measures fail to adequately protect dolphins from commercial and recreational gillnet fishing and trawling throughout their entire range. Fishing is the number one threat to their survival. The marine corridor between the South and North Islands also remains largely unprotected, despite this being important habitat for the critically endangered dolphins.

“The newly announced measures are weaker than the government’s own proposed option to best manage the risk to Maui’s dolphins. After months of delay, it is shocking that there are still critical areas of Maui’s habitat where they could drown in gillnets and trawl nets,” said Ms Bird. “The measures also fail to protect the marine corridors that connect Hector’s dolphins from the south with Maui’s, which scientists consider could hold the key to the survival of the species.”

The Minister of Primary Industries announced the measures after public consultations and a lengthy delay, pending a review of the Hectors and Maui’s Dolphin Threat Management Plan later this year.

“This area should have been fully protected back in 2008 when the government introduced new fishing restrictions. Yet it has taken more dead dolphins, an obstructive legal challenge by the fishing industry and further evidence of a serious decline in the population before the government acted. A Maui’s dolphin was reported killed by a commercial fisher off the Taranaki in January, in an area of known dolphin habitat that we have long argued should be off limits to gill nets,” says Ms Bird.

“We need to do everything we can to ensure the decline of these dolphins is reversed. Small steps will not achieve this; we need bold measures and genuine leadership that will ensure a future for these dolphins.”

The official estimate placing the population of Maui’s dolphins at just 55 individuals over the age of one was released by the Department of Conservation in March this year.  It was based on DNA sampling and profiling carried out by a team of scientists at Auckland University.

Government commissioned science indicates that we can only afford to lose one dolphin at the hands of humans every 10 to 23 years without impacting on the population’s ability to recover.

“We hope history will prove this not to be a case of too little, too late,” said Ms Bird. “WWF will continue to speak on behalf of the vast majority of New Zealanders who want strong government action to save this precious species. The global community are also watching. Maui’s are in such a precarious situation we simply cannot afford to lose a single dolphin.”

Company threatens extinction of native eels

NEW ZEALAND FIRST/ SUN LIVE

New Zealand First says the harvesting of longfin eels to the point of extinction for the benefit of an overseas-owned pet food company clearly illustrates the damage possible when foreign-owned companies are given open access to our resources. 

Rt Hon Winston Peters says it is appalling the Singaporean-owned Addiction Foods are using endangered native longfin eels to create what it calls ‘gourmet pet food’. 

“Populations of native longfin eels are declining and are at risk of extinction yet they are being sold in the US as upmarket pet food.

“The Government needs to stop foreign-owned companies from plundering our natural resources or longfin eels will be eaten into extinction by pampered American cats and dogs.

“For New Zealand to forever lose a precious native species in this manner is unacceptable and the Government must stop the damage inflicted upon the country by foreign-controlled companies.

“People in Europe who know anything about food rightfully regard eels as a delicacy, not pet food,” says Winston.

Source: New Zealand First.

Native eels heading for extinction

RADIO NEW ZEALAND

A freshwater scientist warns that native eels are heading for extinction because councils, power companies and farmers are flouting laws designed to protect them.

Maori in Northland are worried about dwindling numbers of long-fin eels and Dr Mike Joy of Massey University says they have reason to be.

Dr Joy says it is bizarre that New Zealand’s only native eel, the long-fin, is on the endangered list – yet it is still fished commercially.

He says eels migrating downstream to breed are being killed in hydro and irrigation schemes or chopped to pieces in flood pumps.

Dr Joy says pollution and loss of habitat are also factors in the drop in numbers, but laws that say fish must have safe passage in waterways are never enforced.

He says animals that breed just once in mass spawning events can become extinct without apparent warning – and that may be very close for the native long-fin.

Critically endangered plover on Motutpau Island

VOXY.CO.NZ

One of our rarest and most endangered native birds, the New Zealand shore plover has been released on pest free Motutapu Island to increase its chances of survival.

The total population of New Zealand shore plover -Tuturuatu- in the wild is around 200.

The Department of Conservation released 17 of these critically endangered native shore birds on Motutapu Island in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park yesterday (Sunday February 19).

Motutapu and neighbouring Rangitoto Island were declared pest free sanctuaries for threatened native wildlife and plants six months ago by Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson. This marked the removal of nine animal pests – ship rats, Norway rats, stoats, possums, mice, wallabies, feral cats, hedgehogs and rabbits – from both islands.

Shore plover were once widespread around the coast of the North and South Islands. They were wiped out on main land New Zealand by Norway rats and feral cats. These predators reduced the shore plover population to a single island, Rangatira, in the Chatham Islands, which is free of animal pests.

Twenty years ago there were only 130 shore plover left, all living on Rangatira Island. In the early 1990s shore plover eggs from Rangatira were successfully hatched at the Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre in northern Wairarapa. This led to a captive breeding programme being established at the wildlife centre.

Shore plover are also bred by the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust at Peacock Springs in Christchurch. This is where the 17 birds released today were bred. A further 15 shore plover bred at Pukaha Mt Bruce will be released on Motutapu in early March.

DOC began moving captive bred shore plovers onto islands to establish new populations in the wild in the mid 1990s. Shore plover are now living and breeding on Mana Island, north of Wellington, and on a privately owned island off the East Coast of the North Island.

“Shore plover remain critically endangered,” says DOC ranger Hazel Speed.

“We need to establish more new homes for them on pest free islands like Motutapu where they’re safe from rats, feral cats and other animal predators and their numbers can grow.”

Shore plover are the latest at risk native species to be released by DOC onto Motutapu and Rangitoto since the islands were declared pest free sanctuaries on August 27 last year.

T�eke- saddleback – released on Motutapu and Rangitoto, have successfully hatched a number of chicks on both islands.

Critically endangered takah� have also been released on Motutapu along with two freshwater species – koura (freshwater crayfish) and redfin bullies – which have declining populations.

“It’s wonderful to be see shore plover joining the other threatened species we’ve released on Motutapu and Rangitoto since we rid the islands of animal pests,” says Hazel Speed.

“Motutapu and Rangitoto are a valuable addition to the network of pest free islands in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park that provide safe homes for threatened native wildlife.”

“We’re asking people to keep an eye out for these critically endangered birds as they may fly to beaches on Auckland’s mainland. If anyone sees a shore plover at an Auckland beach please let DOC know.”

“Releasing shore plover on Motutapu provides an opportunity for the birds to establish a breeding population on other pest free islands in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park such as Motuihe, Rakino and Motukorea,” say Hazel Speed

Motutapu and Rangitoto are managed by DOC. The department is working with iwi, the Motutapu Restoration Trust and the Rangitoto Island Historic Conservation Trust to restore the natural and cultural heritage of the islands.

‘Extinction is forever’: Scientists’ letter to Minister

NEW ZEALAND HERALD

More than 100 scientists have protested to the Government over fears for the future of New Zealand’s wilderness and endangered native species due to proposed job cuts.

An open letter from 107 conservation biologists and scientists from universities and institutes around the country was released to the Minister of Conservation MP Kate Wilkinson today, mid-way through the 25th International Congress for Conservation Biology 2011 being held in Auckland this week.

They say the loss of nearly 100 jobs over the next six months will damage the department’s efforts in conservation management and planning, as many species and ecosystems on the edge of extinction.

“We have the expertise to prevent this from happening but the experts require funding, support and job security,” said the letter.

Signatories, including professors from several universities were also upset that access to mine public conservation land was not considered for public consultation.

The reduction in support and funding for New Zealand conservation undermining the work of passionate staff who have helped save species such as the kakapo, takahe, saddleback and Chatham Island robin from extinction.

“The loss of positions coupled with those who chose to leave an under-resourced and uncertain future within the department is to the detriment of New Zealand Conservation and ultimately to New Zealanders.”

“Recessions come and go: extinction is forever,” the letter concluded.

To live up to its ’100 % Pure New Zealand’ slogan the country needs a well-funded Department of Conservation, said the scientists.

- APNZ

By APNZ staff
 

Gillnets pushing Maui dolphins towards extinction says marine experts

MERCOPRESS

The world’s most endangered sea dolphins are sliding towards extinction in the face of damaging fishing methods, experts are warning. Hector’s dolphins are found only around New Zealand, where the population has fallen from 30,000 to around 7,000 since nylon fishing nets came into use in the 1970s, a conference on marine bio-diversity in Aberdeen will hear on Thursday.

The country’s North Island population, a subspecies known as Maui’s dolphins, is down to fewer than 100 mammals, according to Dr Barbara Maas, head of endangered species conservation for German environmental group NABU International – Foundation for Nature.

Research by Dr Liz Slooten, from Otago University in New Zealand, suggests commercial fishing gear known as gillnets, which create a wall of netting to catch fish are drowning 23 Hector’s dolphins a year on the east coast of the South Island.

She said the sustainable limit for the area was about one dolphin a year, and at the levels currently seen the population would fall by at least a further 14% by 2050.

Maas, who has worked to protect the species for more than a decade including for the New Zealand Department of Conservation, will warn the conference that gillnets are only part of the problem.

Other fishing methods which had not been included in the calculations are also killing Hector’s dolphins, including the recreational use of gillnets, along with pollution, boat strikes and marine mining.

Trawl nets, which are pulled through the water from boats, were likely to kill as many endangered Hector’s dolphins as commercial gillnets, bringing the number of deaths due to fisheries to 46 along the east coast, she warns.

“An annual loss of this size will wipe out 62% of the population by 2050. Only a scattering of animals will survive, potentially pushing the population beyond the point of no return.”

She said that “absolute protection against commercial and recreational gill-netting and trawling is the only way to prevent their demise”.

Dr Maas, who is speaking at the international marine conference organized by the Universities of Aberdeen and St Andrews, is urging the New Zealand government not to bow to industry pressure and to ban the fishing methods in waters up to 100m deep to save the species.

She suggests more selective fishing methods, such as hook and line fishing, or fish traps, which do not catch dolphins, could be used instead.

Hector’s dolphins on course for extinction

TVNZ

 

The world’s most endangered dolphins are swimming towards extinction, with at least 23 killed in New Zealand fishing nets each year.

Hector’s dolphins are found only in New Zealand, where new research shows fishing bans are failing to stop the species’ decline.

Experts are calling for better protection for the dolphins before it is too late.

The Hector’s dolphin population has fallen from 30,000 to around 8000 since nylon nets came into use in the 1970s.

The North Island population, a separate subspecies known as Maui dolphins, is thought to have fewer than 100 individuals.

Dr Liz Slooten from Otago University and Dr Nick Davies from the Oceanic Fisheries Programme in New Caledonia examined data from observers on commercial gillnetting boats during 2009 and 2010 and – in separate studies – came to the same conclusions.

Each year 23 Hector’s dolphins are drowned in gillnets on the east coast of the South Island, with the same number estimated to be dying in trawling nets.

“The sustainable limit for this area is about one dolphin a year,” Slooten said. If the bycatch from gillnets continued, the population would decrease by another 14% by 2050, she said.

It was unknown how many dolphins drowned in other areas.

Slooten said when a dolphin swims into a gillnet – a wall of net normally anchored to the ground – it cannot swim backwards, so becomes stuck.

Hector’s dolphins can only dive underwater for around one-and-a-half minutes and if they can’t get to the surface, they drown.

Before the fishing net bans were introduced in some parts of New Zealand in 2008, it was estimated around 110 to 150 dolphins were drowned each year, with about 40 of those off the east coast of the South Island.

“We would hope that the population would at least be stable since the bans were introduced or wouuld be recovering – but they are still in decline,” Slooten said.

“It shows the protection models are not enough.”

Currently, there are differing bans on fishing nets and trawlers in various parts of the country.

However areas such as Tasman Bay, Golden Bay and Taranaki are not included and in some areas the bans are seasonal or only pertain to shallow water.

Slooten said the first thing the Minister of Fisheries should do is ensure the dolphin’s safe passage between the north and south islands by creating a bigger protected area on the North Island’s west coast.

Without fishing, it is believed dolphin numbers could double to 15,000.

The research from both Slooten and Davies will be presented to researchers from all over the world attending the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity in Aberdeen this week.

It will be presented by Dr Barbara Maas, the Head of Endangered Species Conservation with NABU International – Foundation for Nature.

It will also be published by the Royal Society of New Zealand.

 

Hector’s dolphin facts

* Hector’s dolphins prefer shallow waters up to 100m deep and are therefore highly vulnerable to fishing nets.

* Hector’s dolphins are classified as Endangered by the Red List of Endangered Species. This means that they are “facing a high risk of extinction in the near future”.

* Numbers have declined from 30,000 in the 1970s to less than 8000 today.

* Females only have one calf every 2-4 years and do not reach breeding age until they are 7-9 years old. Their potential for recovery is therefore extremely slow.

* North Island Hector’s dolphins, also called Maui’s dolphins, are classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. This means that they are “facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the immediate future”.

New Zealand forest ecosystem crisis

STUFF.CO.NZ

New Zealand’s forest ecosystems are the second-most threatened in the world and house only 5 percent of their original habitat, according to an international report.

In figures released by Conservation International, New Zealand’s forests are placed only behind Indo-Burma as the most at-risk forest ecosystem in the world.

The world’s 10 most threatened forest regions have all lost at least 90 percent of their original habitat, and are home to at least 1500 plants which are not found anywhere else.

New Zealand’s forests were home to 5 percent of its endemic species, Conservation International said.

“Forests must be seen as more than just a group of trees. Forests give us vital benefits,” Conservation International policy chief Olivier Langrand said.

Invasive species, such as rats, stoats and possums, posed the most serious threat to the flora and fauna of New Zealand, Conservation International said.

The Green Party said the report drew attention to the fact New Zealand was failing to protect its most precious plants and animals from possible extinction.

“National’s $54 million cut to the Department of Conservation’s budget was a reckless gamble with the conservation estate, given the extreme level of threats our plants and animals face,” Green Party conservation spokesman Kevin Hague said.

“If we love our unique spaces and the plants and animals that live there, we’ll need to re-prioritise the way we spend our money.”

He said he planned to introduce a Member’s Bill into the House to place complete protection over native plants and animals, since many species still remained unprotected.

The 10 most at risk forests in the world are, in order; Indo-Burma, with 5 percent of its remaining habitat, New Zealand 5 percent, Sundaland (southeast Asia) 7 percent, Philippines 7 percent, Atlantic Forest 8 percent, Mountains of Southwest China 8 percent, California Floristic Province 10 percent, Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa 10 percent, Madagascar & Indian Ocean Islands 10 percent, and Eastern Afromontane (Africa) 11 percent.

Conservation International is a non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting the Earth’s ecosystems and biodiversity.

Extinction Of The Kiwi Estimated Less Than 20 Yrs

Scoop

Press Release from the Kiwi Foundation 

As New Zealanders we proudly identify ourselves as Kiwis and envisage that we will forever be known internationally as Kiwis.

However the future of this identity is under threat as our national icon faces extinction in the next 20-30 years. It is a situation the New Zealand Kiwi Foundation is working desperately to reverse.

Foundation convenor Dr Greg Blunden has seen the kiwi population decline rapidly. He says their numbers have fallen from 78,000 in 1998 to 70,000 in 2004, threatening extinction.

This has prompted the New Zealand Kiwi Foundation to launch its ‘Fragile Kiwi Campaign’ to raise awareness of the issue.

“If we do not act we will be the generation responsible for losing the kiwi, this is a burden I’m sure none of us would wish to carry,” says Helen Denny of the Foundation.

The Foundation is based in Northland where there are more wild kiwi than anywhere else in New Zealand. It works to protect the brown kiwi population in Northland, estimated at 25,000.

While the Foundation has many pest control methods in place in Northland the biggest threat to kiwi survival is the domestic cat and dog. ‘Man’s best friend’ is killing our national icon with one German Shepherd killing 500 kiwi in just over one month.

The ‘Fragile Kiwi Campaign’ will encourage holidaymakers to either leave their pets at home or keep them inside over night. With the help of holidaymakers the Foundation hopes to reduce the loss of kiwi over the holiday period and encourage a permanent attitude change.

The Foundation is hosting a ‘Fragile’ Kiwi Representative Day at the Auckland Zoo (19 October). Children from Auckland and Northland schools have been invited to participate in the event aimed at educating children on the ‘fragile’ state of the kiwi and what they can do to protect it.

The New Zealand Kiwi Foundation was founded in 1999 and is based in Kerikeri. The Foundation works closely with local authorities and land owners on pest control and conservation methods. While the Foundation is based in Northland it collaborates with other kiwi conservation groups to protect the kiwi on a national scale.