A bottlenose dolphin calf which was born in December this year. Photo / Cat Peters
A bottlenose dolphin calf which was born in December this year. Photo / Cat Peters
They're nature's adrenaline junkies but Bay of Islands bottlenose dolphins may need "rehab" after the species has dwindled because of their addiction to socialising and love from humans.
The number of identifiable bottlenose dolphins in Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands) has declined from 278 in 1999 to just 26 this year.By 2022 they could be locally extinct.
Department of Conservation (DOC) senior marine ranger Cat Peters said bottlenose dolphin numbers were diminishing because they were spending too much time with boats and people, and not enough time resting, feeding and caring for their young.
"Dolphins are nature's adrenaline junkies. They approach the front of boats, they do things like socialising behaviour - jumping on the bow of boats - and that takes a lot of energy.
"What we're seeing in the Bay of Islands is they are favouring that energy-sucking behaviour - socialising and big dives - and they become addicted. With any addiction something has to fall off and what they're not doing is resting and feeding."
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In the Bay of Islands dolphins are spending about 90 per cent of their day socialising.
"They're using more energy and they're not regaining it so they're not healthy. They can't do what normal dolphins do. And it's partly their fault, we almost need dolphin rehab."
Peters said research showed calf mortality rate was 75 per cent, which meant dolphin calves were not surviving to be independent. On average the mortality rate across populations was 20 to 30 per cent.
She said only three out of 12 calves survived between 2012 and 2016 and last summer no calves were born, which is the best time for them to be born.
New regulations for commercial marine mammal viewing were introduced in 2018 after the 2016 bottlenose count indicated the drop in numbers was more than just natural fluctuation.
But Peters said permits don't address the public's interaction with the dolphin, which is why a roopu between DOC and Ngā Hapū kaitiaki o te Pēwhairangi will be supporting a public consultation process for a proposed marine mammal sanctuary in the Bay of Islands.
"Nowhere are we advocating that you shouldn't look at dolphins, that you shouldn't see them. But we're almost loving them too much," she said.
"People say they love [socialising] and they do. But we are also an intelligent species and we do a lot of behaviours that we become addicted to, that aren't healthy for us as well."
A pod of dolphins entertaining in the Bay of Islands in 2016. Photo / Stephen Western
John Tiatoa, Ngā Hapū kaitiaki o te Pēwhairangi and Te Uri Taniwha representative, said dolphins were a taonga that needed protecting, along with other marine species.
"They are the kaitiaki of the takutai moana [coast]. There is a spiritual part in regards to te ao Māori and the special role the dolphins play. A lot of the hapū have had significant engagement over time and signs from them," he said.
Tiatoa said there needs to be a true partnership in Pēwhairangi in regards to the kaitiakitanga of the marine life.
"This is just one mammal species that our activities are having an effect [on], and we need to take responsibility for those decisions that we are making."
Vanessa McKay, owner of Carino Wildlife Cruises, said she would fully support a marine mammal sanctuary.
"I think it's a really great idea. I've been doing this for about 25 years and I've seen the decline or change in bottlenose dolphins over that time and the law just doesn't protect them enough."
She also believed people needed more education on how to behave around dolphins.
"They love riding on boats, but maybe that's not great for them. We need to take a step back and say 'hang on a minute, is this good for them?'"
Meanwhile, Peters said DOC would be on the water all summer talking to boaties.
"It's a very public process and we said from the beginning that doing it any other way just doesn't meet our requirements but also isn't going to have the desired effect. What we need really is social change."
