July 31, 2014
Help needed for Mauis dolphin
Forest and Bird say without changes to human activity there is little hope for the remaining Maui’s dolphins.
Advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell says in the 1970s there were a couple of thousand of the dolphins from Hawkes Bay round to the upper west coast of the North Island.
There are now only 55 known adults on the west coast.
He says the introduction of nylon monofilament set nets has been lethal to the dolphins.
"These dolphins are quite unusual. They live in the shallow water. They're chasing fish, which of course the fisherment are doing with the set nets, and they get caught in them and they suffocate and drown. That has been the biggest threat. There has also been some from the trawl fishing. So what we're saying and what needs to happen is we need to stop all the things we are doing that kill the dolphins
Kevin Hackwell the seismic surveys associated with oil and gas exploration are a major problem for marine mammals, as are plans to mine the seabed in its remaining habitat.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN HACKWELL CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjA2NjA=
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