Net gain for endangered dolphins
03 Jul 2008
The rarest marine dolphin in the world – down to 111 individuals following decades of entanglement in fishing nets – is to receive protection over more of its range from the New Zealand government following several years of sustained WWF campaigning.
The critically-endangered Maui’s dolphins, living only along the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island, could be functionally extinct within just 25 years largely as a result of a losing battle with fishing nets.
Unable to detect the fine mesh, dolphins can quickly become entangled and drown. Now Maui’s numbers are so low they could be functionally extinct, unless they are given total protection.
Since 2002, WWF has sustained pressure on the New Zealand government to remove all threats to the Maui’s dolphin and its South Island cousin, the Hector’s dolphin – which has suffered a population decline from an estimated 26,000 in the 1970s to just 7,270 today.
From 1 October 2008, set net and trawl fishing will be banned in more of the areas where Maui’s dolphins and Hector’s dolphins range.
“We’re thrilled the government has finally acted,” said Rebecca Bird, Marine Programme Manager for WWF-New Zealand. “The new measures mean fewer dolphins will die in fishing nets, and that’s a strong first step.
“After years of government delays and more dolphin deaths, we are now seeing real action to improve their chances of survival.”
Though a step forward, the protection measures don’t go far enough for the dolphin populations to recover. Maui’s dolphins won’t be protected inside harbours or in the southern extent of their alongshore range, while Hector’s dolphins along the west coast will remain unprotected from trawl fishing and only given limited protection from set nets.
Based on population modeling by University of Otago scientists Dr Elisabeth Slooten and Dr Steve Dawson, the new protection will at best hold Hector’s dolphin numbers at their current depleted level.
With such low numbers, this still leaves Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins at risk of extinction and WWF is continuing its campaign to ban net fishing throughout the dolphins’ range.
“Total protection is the only way to give the dolphins the chance to recover so they are no longer at risk of extinction,” said Bird. “We want a future where Hector’s and Maui’s return to their historic abundance and distribution. These measures are the first step towards this.”
2008/07/03
受危海豚的福音
在世界野生生物基金會（World Wildlife Fundation，WWF）多年的運動倡導以後，長年以來時常遭到漁網糾纏以致數量僅剩111隻的稀有海洋性海豚即將受到紐西蘭政府的保護。
這種瀕危的海豚名叫毛依海豚（Maui's dolphin），只生活在紐西蘭北島的西岸。毛依海豚有可能在二十五年以內功能性滅絕，主要肇因於和漁網之間的戰爭節節敗戰。
由於無法偵測到纖細的網線，海豚很容易纏在網上並且溺斃。現在毛依海豚的族群數量已經低到不採取全面保護措施便可能功能性滅絕的境地。
自從2002年開始，WWF便持續地對紐西蘭政府施加壓力以期能夠除去對毛依海豚的所有威脅，也連帶保護毛依海豚棲息在紐西蘭南島的表親賀氏矮海豚（Hector' s Dolphin）。賀氏矮海豚也正面臨了族群的衰減，在1970年代據估還有26000隻的賀氏矮海豚如今只剩下7270隻了。
從2008年10月1日開始，定置漁網以及拖網將在大部分毛依海豚及賀氏矮海豚棲息地的海域裡被禁止使用。「我們很興奮政府終於有所作為了，」WWF在紐西蘭的海洋計畫主持人Rebecca Bird這樣說道，「這項新措施代表未來不會有那麼多的海豚死在漁網上，而這是很大的一步。」
雖然前進了一步，但這項保護措施仍不足以使海豚的族群數量恢復。毛依海豚在港口以及往南的近岸地區並不會受到保護，此外西岸的賀氏矮海豚則僅免於定置漁網的威脅，而仍暴露於抋?網的陰影下。
根據紐西蘭奧塔哥大學（University of Otago）的科學家Dr. Elisabeth Slooten以及Dr. Steve Dawson所建立的族群模式，這項新的保護措施充其量僅能保持賀氏矮海豚的數量在現今這個已經過衰減過後的層級。
由於族群的數量仍然很小，賀氏矮海豚以及毛依海豚仍舊面臨了滅絕的風險，而WWF正持續地倡導在這兩種海豚的棲地內全面禁止定置漁網及拖網的漁法。
「全面的保護是讓這些海豚有機會恢復族群並免於滅絕的唯一辦法，」Bird如此說道，「我們希望未來賀氏矮海豚以及毛依海豚能回到過去曾有的族群數量以及分佈範圍，而這些措施正是朝向如此願景的第一步。」
原文刊於WWF News Archive
原文聯結 http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/news/index.cfm?uNewsID=139581
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