Set nets cause 70% of Hector’s dolphin deaths

23/11/2006 00:00:00 Set nets are responsible for more than 70% of deaths of endangered Hector’s dolphins in cases where the cause of death is known, figures show. The figures clearly indicate that a national set net ban is urgently needed to protect these endangered marine mammals, Forest & Bird conservation advocate Kirstie Knowles says. Figures from the Department of Conservation’s national mortality database show that where the cause of death of Hector’s dolphins was known, more than 70% of deaths were attributable to set nets. Other human-induced threats, including trawling, craypots and boat strike, each accounted for less than 10% of known deaths, the figures show.

‘The figures clearly show that set nets pose a serious threat as the number one killer of Hector’s dolphins. Current restrictions are not enough to halt the death toll. The only realistic solution to protect the dolphins is a nationwide ban on set nets, which would dramatically reduce the number of deaths,’ Kirstie Knowles says.

Once common in New Zealand coastal waters, Hector’s dolphins have declined in number from about 26,000 in the 1970s (when set netting began) to about 7000 now, and are listed by the World Conservation Union as endangered. Only an estimated 111 individuals remain of the North Island sub-species, Maui’s dolphin, which is critically endangered.

Set nets are widely used by both commercial and recreational fishers, but virtually every fish species targeted by fishers can be caught by alternative methods. Set nets are banned or tightly controlled in many countries and states, including many states of the USA, the UK and Australia.