“We’re really pleased the Government has extended the set-net fishing ban around the Otago Peninsula and taken steps to give hoiho a fighting chance while longer-term measures are developed,” says WWF-New Zealand’s CEO, Dr Kayla Kingdon-Bebb.
“But this important step now needs to be followed by much stronger action to protect these beloved birds. The yellow-eyed penguin is perilously close to extinction, with fewer than 150 breeding pairs left on the mainland. I can’t begin to imagine a future where the only place we can see this special bird is on the back of our five-dollar note.”
“This fishing ban needs to cover the full hoiho foraging range, and we urgently need to expand our network of marine protected areas to ensure their safe passage.
“We also need better fisheries management so there’s enough food left in the ecosystem for our penguins and other native species. Otherwise, we are quite simply leaving the hoiho to starve to death.”
“It’s also time we once and for all end destructive fishing practices like bottom trawling in their foraging grounds. The time for dither and delay is over,” she says.
Hoiho are being hammered by a lethal mix of threats: drowning in commercial fishing nets, starvation from collapsing fish stocks, malnutrition and disease, and the mounting pressures of climate change. Scientists warn that without urgent intervention, mainland hoiho will disappear within just a few years.
Dr Kingdon-Bebb says the crisis highlights the need for sweeping reform of New Zealand’s outdated marine protection laws.
“The tools we have to protect the marine environment are broken, and our native species are paying the price. We know what needs to be done, and the science is clear. What’s missing are the tools and the political will to act decisively.”
“I commend Minister for taking this important step today. But it’s now time to pull out all the stops – and fast.”
WWF-New Zealand and the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust are calling for the strongest possible measures to save this endangered penguin and have created an email tool for Kiwis to contact Ministers and MPs. So far, over 3,000 emails have been sent.