Actress focuses on dolphins’ fortunes
Outrageous Fortune star Robyn Malcolm is back with a new role – campaigning to save Hector’s and Ma¯ ui’s dolphins.
She’s teamed up with her 11-year-old niece Sylvie and Greenpeace to encourage other New Zealanders to submit on a new government plan to reduce threats to the endangered creatures.
On Monday, they will present a petition to Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage, signed by almost 60,000 people.
Ma¯ui’s dolphins are considered the world’s most endangered dolphin, with an estimated 63 adults left. Hector’s dolphins number around 15,700, and are categorised as ‘‘nationally endangered’’.
Malcolm is calling on the Government to go further to protect these ‘‘gorgeous little creatures.’’
‘‘It seems like a no-brainer. They are so particular to New Zealand waters, they are ours. The fact that we have got so few Ma¯ ui’s dolphin left is shameful, really.’’
In June, Sage and Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash released proposed new measures to protect the marine mammals. But the threat management plan was slammed by conservationists.
It includes extending the West Coast North Island Marine Mammal Sanctuary south to Wellington, and the Banks Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary north to Kaiko¯ ura, south to Timaru, and offshore to 20 nautical miles.
The Department of Conservation would have to develop an action plan to deal with toxoplasmosis, a disease that can kill dolphins. Cameras would also be placed on fishing boats operating in a Ma¯ ui’s dolphin habitat off the west coast.
The Government has asked for public feedback on the plans and that closes on Monday. Malcolm will deliver 200 submissions to Parliament.
Dolphin experts have said the proposals don’t go far enough – and the actress agrees. Malcolm wants to see a ban on net fishing, seismic testing and seabed mining in their habitat. ‘‘We are not doing enough to protect them. It needs a blanket ban on all these things.’’
She is frustrated by commercial fishing industry opposition. ‘‘It’s all so political. We’ve got to keep [these fishing companies] happy. And then they put up a picture of an independent fisherman trying to feed his family. Those guys aren’t that. It’s terrifically cynical. They go out there with their drift nets and trawl nets, hauling up everything in their wake, and they aren’t thinking long term. That makes me angry.’’
Malcolm was moved to act when she joined a summer research trip with Sylvie, and Otago University academics Liz Slooten and Steve Dawson, who have been tirelessly researching the dolphins for years.
‘‘Sylvie is one of that generation of kids who are just so anxious about the world, and didn’t know what to do. My heart really breaks for these kids, because it is going to end up on their plate.
‘‘I suggested she come and meet Liz and Steve, a face-to-face meeting with people who are really doing something.
‘‘They took us out on their little research boat to see these little creatures. It was an extraordinary couple of days. They are tiny, not what you expect, and they felt so precious to me.’’