Ngāti Te Wehi has collected over 10,000 signatures in a petition to stop bottom trawling in Māui dolphin habitats, hoping the government will take urgent action as the population dwindles to just 48.
The iwi has spent generations advocating for the species found off the West Coast of the North Island and has since gained traction through its collaboration with the cosmetic company LUSH and the Endangered Species Foundation.
Aotea, from the Apiti whānau, says there were a lot of emotions.
“Being able to reach 10,040 signatures, it’s just been amazing, just the harikoa that we feel with all the tautoko,” she says.
She hopes that the cries of those who have been advocating will finally be heard.
“It’s been too long. This is a fight that so many generations have fought for.”
The petition to stop bottom trawling
The petition from iwi and advocates calls for an end to bottom trawling in all Hector’s and Māui dolphin habitats, which span the shores of Aotearoa where the dolphins continue to decline.
Minister for Conservation Tama Potaka said in a statement that he wasn’t aware of the petition, adding that it would be “premature” to comment and that “if a request is received, it will be considered in the usual way.” However, he did not outline what the “usual way” meant.
He went on to say that the protection of Māui and Hector’s dolphins remains a priority and that the Ministry for Primary Industries is currently updating the Hector’s and Māui dolphin multi-threat risk assessment, with results due in 2027.
Current regulations and threats
Bottom trawling, set netting, and diseases like toxoplasmosis have been linked to the deaths of Māui and Hector’s dolphins by the Department of Conservation (DOC).
In a statement to Te Ao Māori News, DOC stated it has had no reports of Māui dolphins getting stuck in trawl nets, though it has seen reports involving Hector’s dolphins, a close relative with a larger population. The department did not outline the impact of trawling on the dolphins’ habitats or food sources.
DOC says work to mitigate threats has been carried out in some habitats jointly with Fisheries New Zealand through their Hector’s and Māui Dolphin Threat Management Plan.
In 2020, additional protections were added, meaning there are now approximately 5,837 km² of trawl prohibitions in place in known Māui dolphin habitats, such as the west coast of the North Island between New Plymouth/Waiwhakaiho River and Maunganui Bluff out to four nautical miles.
Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Response
NZ First’s Shane Jones responded to the petition by stating first that he does not believe the Māui is a subspecies of Hector’s dolphin.
“Kotahi anake te momo pāpahu ko tōna ingoa, ko te tūpāpou, ko te tūpāpou karangahia nei e te Pākehā ko Hector’s dolphin, e mōhio ana ahau tērā wētahi mātanga kei te whare wānanga e kī ana ko Māui rerekē te momo me te whakapapa o Māui ki tō ngā tūpoupou ki ngā heke, engari kāhore a Matua Shane e whakaae ana,” he says.
He went on to say that although he oversees fisheries, the responsibility for commercial fishing water restrictions lies with Potaka and DOC.
Jones added that, even so, he disagrees with extending trawling restrictions because most of New Zealand’s fish supply comes from the industry.
“Te take o mātou e kore e whakaae kia katia tērā momo mahi 70 paihēneti pea o ngā ika katoa,” he says.
“Engari mō te wāhanga ki ahau ka nui noa atu taku wehi ki te whakatatia, ki te whakakāhoretia e te karauna te tuku o ngā kupenga ki raro i te wai, ko te māiatanga ake ka riro mā ngā iwi o rāwāhi tātou e whāngai i a tātou ki te ika.”
Petition to Parliament
The whānau says funding assistance from LUSH’s Māui campaign will help iwi and advocates travel to Wellington to present the petition in the near future.
In a message to the government, long-time advocate Davis Apiti says his desired outcome is simple.
“Step aside. Let us do what we need to do, that’s all we want,” he says.
“Give us those resources we need, that we should have, to be able to protect the spaces that they move in.”
