Fishers make extraordinary move to save Māui dolphins
Environmental organisation WWF-New Zealand today hailed the commitment on Māui dolphin protection led by two New Zealand
commercial fishing companies as ground breaking.
Today, Moana New Zealand and Sanford Limited announced their commitment to the goal of removing fishing-related threats
across the entire Māui dolphin range, so that this critically endangered species can rebound and expand.
"This commitment by Sanford and Moana is a truly ground breaking and inspiring move," said WWF-New Zealand’s Head of
Campaigns, Peter Hardstaff.
“These companies are supporting a lasting solution for Māui dolphins and demonstrating leadership by taking voluntary
actions to reduce the fishing threats to these amazing animals."
The voluntary actions announced by the companies include: withdrawing annual catch entitlement to set net fishers north
of New Plymouth by October 2017; and investing in trialling alternative dolphin-safe fishing methods to replace
conventional trawling within six years (by the end of 2022).
"This leadership is vital, but Sanford and Moana cannot remove the fishing threats on their own because there are many
other fishers operating in Māui habitat,” Mr Hardstaff said.
WWF urges the government to publicly support this commitment and assist fishers to transition to dolphin-safe methods
throughout the Māui dolphin range.
“This is a conservation emergency requiring concerted and collaborative action – it is essential that the NZ government
engages with Moana and Sanford and other fishers on the North Island’s west coast,” Mr Hardstaff said.
"We urge all political parties to get behind this initiative and support a lasting solution so that the Māui dolphin
population can be saved from extinction.”
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