Guest guest Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Dear Colleagues Hector's and Maui's dolphins occur only in New Zealand. Gill netting and trawling have pushed them to the brink of extinction. Hector's have declined from an estimated 26,000 in the 1970s to just 7,000. The situation for Maui's is even worse. A staggering 90% have drowned in fishing nets and just 111 animals survive. The New Zealand Government is about to announce whether it will improve existing protection levels, after having delayed its decision from December 2007. Because of momentous political pressure and a concerted misinformation campaign by the fishing industry, it is critical that those of us who have a problem with extinction make a final push on the dolphins' behalf. As part of Care for the Wild's efforts to achieve a positive outcome, we are preparing an international sign-on letter urging the NZ Prime Minister to ensure that Hector's and Maui's dolphins are fully protected against all commercial and recreational fishing-related mortality, which I will deliver by hand. There is no doubt that NZ is concerned about international opinion on this, so international opinion is what we need to give them. The individual letters many of you sent last year have certainly had an impact. I know you are all very busy with your own work, but please give 5 minutes of your time today to read and sign-on to the letter below. The more organisations that join together on this, the stronger our case! To sign-on please e-mail your organisation's name, country, and approximate membership to bmaas no later than Monday 18th February. If you know of other organisations that might be interested in joining, please feel free to forward this message. For more information, please visit http://www.careforthewild.com/campaign.asp Thank you! Barbara CEO, Care for the Wild ---- Dear Prime Minister We the undersigned represent XXX national and international environmental and animal protection organisations from xxx countries. Collectively we represent XXX supporters, including leading marine biologists, conservationists and concerned members of the public. Together, we would like to urge you to ensure that your Government accepts nothing less than full protection for Hector's and Maui's dolphins against all commercial and recreational fishing-related mortality. We congratulate you for putting together an extensive Draft Threat Management Plan (TMP) for Hector's and Maui's dolphins. The draft TMP identifies fishing, particularly gillnetting and trawling, as " the greatest cause of human induced mortality to the dolphins " , and your Government's own figures attribute nearly 70% of Hector's dolphin mortality to fishing. Hector's dolphins have declined from some 26,000 in the 1970s to just 7,000. The situation for Maui's is even worse. Ninety percent have died in fishing nets and a mere 111 survive. Research has shown that this species will not survive if more than one animal is killed every 5-7 years. But at least 12 Maui's dolphins have died in the past 5 years alone, creating a severe deficit. If nothing changes, numbers are predicted to decline further, and almost 10,000 Hector's dolphins will be lost during the next 50 years – an average of 200 animals a year. These are shocking figures for any species. They are real and stand, despite vociferous claims to the contrary by detractors with vested interests, and leave no margin for error. We are disappointed that none of the management options considered by the draft TMP afford Hector's or Maui's dolphins full protection against fisheries bycatch. Even the best possible set of measures included in the TMP (Option 3) would provide less than a 50:50 chance that Hector's dolphins will recover to just half their 1970s numbers by 2050. In contrast, the Marine Mammal Protection Act explicitly requires that species listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable should become non-threatened as soon as possible, but at least within 20 years. Hector's and Maui's dolphins are not only the world's rarest, but also one of the best studied cetaceans. Twenty four years of research have created a wealth of compelling published and peer-reviewed data on their ecology, population biology and threats that all point in the same direction. Consequently your Government is in a very strong position to take the necessary steps to protect these species for the future. We therefore urge you to implement the following measures: • Adopt Option 3, the only management option which may result in slow population recovery • Fully protect all parts of the species' range not included under Option 3 (i.e. Tasman Bay, Golden Bay and Pelorus Sound) • Fully protect areas where Hector's and Maui's dolphins were seen regularly in the past, but not in recent years (e.g. South Taranaki) • Extend protection from trawling to the same off-shore distance as the proposed gillnet ban and prohibit both along a 100 metre depth contour (i.e. out to 6,12 and 18 nautical miles offshore, depending on the area) Gillnetting is worth less than 1% of New Zealand's fisheries (not including aquaculture). Short-term economic costs of switching to sustainable dolphin-safe fishing methods will be substantially offset by the benefits accruing from tourism, New Zealand's reputation as a world leader in environmental sustainability, and in the medium term, the fisheries itself. You yourself have said, " Our reputation as a country with a clean and green environment is priceless. Failure to protect it by inaction on sustainability would pose a considerable economic risk to New Zealand. " We agree. Without a firm commitment to genuine sustainability – which in this case means full, range-wide protection against fishing-related mortality throughout the year – New Zealand will undermine its environmental credibility. Your country has long acted as a key advocate for cetacean conservation. The decision before you now also offers an excellent opportunity for genuine leadership. This is an international conservation issue. Hector's dolphins are almost as scarce as tigers, and Maui's dolphins are one of the rarest animals on earth. Like the Kiwi, they are a national treasure, which New Zealand safeguards on behalf of the rest of the world. There is no longer room for compromise. Only complete protection against fishing-related mortality will save Hector's and Maui's dolphins from extinction. With China's Yangtze River dolphin declared extinct at the end of last year, please do not allow another dolphin species to disappear forever. Sincerely, Care for the Wild – International Earth Island Institute – International Save Japan Dolphins - USA ---- Dr Barbara Maas Chief Executive, Care for the Wild International Tel: +44-(0)1306-627900 Mob: +44-(0)7970987742 bmaas www.careforthewild.com " You must be the change you want to see in the world " Mahatma Ghandi ---- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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