Can technology end sailing-versus-dolphin war?
New Zealand’s leaders have blamed “too much red tape” for delaying and cancelling SailGP races in Christchurch this weekend.
Thousands had to pack up and head home on Saturday when dolphins had the only fun during SailGP’s first day of racing in Lyttelton. Racing resumed on Sunday, with New Zealand’s Black Foils taking the win, but the delays have turned into verbal swings between environmentalists and racing fans.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told media on Monday it was “important for the economy” to attract and retain worldclass events like SailGP, watched by millions of people around the world.
“[There’s] way too much red tape ... and as a result that doesn't make us a great place to run a global event. We’ve got to find the balance between running world class events ... and protecting our environment,” he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said Saturday’s cancellations “spotlighted the overly influential bureaucratic processes, power-drunk government departments, and some decision makers who clearly care more about their fiefdoms than our country’s economic development and international reputation”.
SailGP chief executive Russell Coutts hinted the event could be pulled from Kiwi waters entirely, leaving many asking if advanced technology could help keep dolphins away during race days.
The short answer is no.
The vessels are too fast and change direction too quickly for curious dolphins to escape from. Research published from the Israel Institute of Technology said a dolphin can swim no more than 54kph, less than the 70kph speeds the F50 boats reached on Sunday in winds of around 34kph. The boats can reach speeds of almost 100kph in favourable conditions.
Dolphins were at risk of colliding with the boats, and could end up refusing to return to their natural habitat because of the event’s loud activity, Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke and Department of Conservation (DOC) said.
Isn’t Lyttelton Port an active loud environment anyway?
Emeritus Professor Liz Slooten said while it’s a working harbour, “none of those boats are whizzing around at 100kph on very sharp blades”. Port noise, shipping and other industrial activities did disturb the seafloor, possibly affecting species that Hector’s dolphins eat.
Cruise ships are thought to be behind
the fewer number of Hector's in Akaroa Harbour in the last couple of decades.
“It's an important port for Canterbury and the South Island ... but it's also Hector’s dolphins’ home and we need to be doing everything we can to make sure it's safe for them,” Māui and Hector's Dolphin Defenders chairperson Christine Rose said.
Could technology deter dolphins?
You can definitely detect dolphins, but deterring them – particularly from an area big enough for a race course – would be tough, said Matthew Mooney, the managing director of underwater operations and engineering company Bay Dynamics.
It’s also illegal. Trying to disturb or harass dolphins is an offence under the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978, as is injuring or killing marine mammals.
A SailGP spokesperson said an underwater acoustic deterrent device was proposed for last season as an extra layer of protection, positioned near the edge of the racecourse and activated only when no dolphins are detected acoustically or visually within or near the race area.
SailGP lodged – then withdrew – a consent application with DOC to use an acoustic harassment device before last year’s race to allow for further testing.
DOC mahaanui operations manager Andy Thompson said the use of such devices could drive dolphins out of their habitat, separating mothers and calves, make animals flee in unpredictable directions, or cause them to dive – all of which would make them harder to track. “Where pingers are used on fishing fleets to try and deter them from the trawl net, the dolphins can get acclimatised to the pingers, so they're not a proven deterrent,” Rose added.
SailGP used two acoustic monitoring hydrophone buoys to detect the presence of dolphins and had observers at nine on-land stations.
What other factors would call off racing?
While leaving Saturday’s event, long-time sailing fan Murray Rodwell said “that’s the way sailing goes sometimes”.
And he’s right. SailGP had significant disruptions to its grand final event in San Francisco in 2022 when a whale was spotted on the racecourse. A second day of racing was called off in Sydney last year when a freak storm tore a boat’s wing off and flew through the air, damaging the technical site.
Wind conditions also play a large part in the event’s success.
SailGP can make changes to the times, dates and places of any events or make cancellations because of unforeseen circumstances, as set out in its terms and conditions. No postponement day was planned for.
What needs to be done?
Slooten said it was suggested to hold the event in winter, when fewer dolphins would be around, but SailGP “wouldn’t hear of it”.
The bigger issue though was whether a dolphin sanctuary was the right spot for the race, she said. “It’s like having a car rally in a forest with kiwi in it, catching all the kiwi and saying you'll put them back afterwards – it just seems desperate when it would be far easier to choose another location.”
Slooten was thrilled to hear Coutts suggest Queenstown or Wellington, “both of those were really good ideas”. Rose said while the debate appeared to be “environmentalists vs racing”, “there are places that aren't marine mammal sanctuaries ... where the race could be run”. Lake Taupō and Lake Wānaka were Rose’s suggestion for suitable venues.