New Bay of Islands marine mammal rules: Boats no closer than 300m, no swimming with dolphins

DOC staff react as Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan launches Te Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands) Marine Mammal Sanctuary via Zoom from her office at Parliament. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A marine mammal sanctuary with strict new rules limiting people's interactions with bottlenose dolphins in the Bay of Islands will come into force on December 15.

The key rules include a ban on getting into the water within 300m of a marine mammal or approaching closer than 300m by vessel.

If marine mammals approach a boat, the vessel must stop until they move at least 300m away.

Vessel speeds are also limited to five knots inside specified ''safe zones''.

The safe zones are between Moturua and Motuarohia islands and the northern side of the Russell Peninsula, including Oneroa Bay, Paroa Bay, Manawaora Bay and Jacks Bay.

Marine experts and Bay of Islands tourism businesses are divided on the plan, but the Department of Conservation and local hapū say it's needed to stop an alarming decline in the Bay's bottlenose population.

According to DOC, the local bottlenose dolphin population plummeted from 278 in 1999 to just 26 in 2020.

The department says that is mainly due to the dolphins spending on average 86 per cent of daylight hours in the presence of at least one vessel, affecting their ability to feed and care for their young.

The Department of Conservation says dolphin numbers in the Bay of Islands have dropped more than 90 per cent since 1999. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Te Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands) Marine Mammal Sanctuary was announced at Zane Grey's restaurant in Paihia yesterday by Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan, who beamed in by Zoom from her office at Parliament.

Allan said the sanctuary would address pressures on the Bay's marine mammals while also responding to concerns raised in the submissions process by making ''important workability amendments''.

Changes from the original proposal include reducing the ''approach distance'' from 400m to 300m.

The sanctuary boundaries were also adjusted to exclude key ports, landings and anchorages, including waters off Ōpua, Russell, Paihia, Doves Bay and Ōpito Bay.

The final version also includes exemptions, for example, for vessels with restricted manoeuvrability or approved events.

Department of Conservation marine mammal expert Cat Peters speaks at the launch of Te Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands) Marine Mammal Sanctuary. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Allan said the rules had already been tightened up in 2019 — when swimming with dolphins was banned — but had proved difficult to enforce and applied to commercial operators.

The sanctuary rules applied to everyone.

''It wasn't a decision I took lightly but it's a vital step forward in the protection of our marine mammals,'' she said.

The new rules apply to all marine mammals though the most common species encountered in the Bay are bottlenose dolphins and fur seals. Common dolphins, orca and whales are less frequent visitors.

A total of 645 submissions were received, of which 66 per cent were in support, 26 per cent opposed, and eight per cent neutral.

Some Bay of Islands tourism operators, however, say the sanctuary will hurt businesses already reeling from the effects of Covid-19.

Paihia Dive owner Craig Johnston, one of the main marine businesses in the Bay and the only dive operator in Paihia, said he was disappointed that there hadn't been any consultation beyond the initial call for submissions.

Johnston's key concern was the inclusion of fur seals in the sanctuary rules.

Seals would often hang around in the same spot all day, so if a dive boat had to stop and wait any time a fur seal was within 300m that could shut out popular dive sites.

The change from 400m to 300m made the rules ''a little more workable'' but could still effectively close off Bird Rock and the end of Cape Brett.

Johnston said it was ''madness'' to apply the same rules to bottlenose dolphins and fur seals, whose numbers were increasing in the Bay.

''But if it's going ahead we'll just have to deal with it, on top of everything else that's happening at the moment.''

Swimming with dolphins in the Bay of Islands - even for people on private vessels - will be a thing of the past when the new marine mammal sanctuary comes into force. Photo / Stephen Western

Explore Group, which owns Fullers GreatSights and Explore, is one of just a few businesses offering dolphin cruises.

Managing director William Goodfellow said the company had to comply with a slightly different set of rules, as set out in its marine mammal permit, so the impact on his business wouldn't be huge.

He was, however, interested in the wider impact of the sanctuary, and welcomed the decision to moderate some of the rules.

''But we do support anything that's for the benefit of marine mammals.''

The sanctuary also has the backing of Ngā Hapū o Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands subtribes), with Ngāti Torehina kaumātua Hugh Rihari saying dolphins were a taonga species of great significance to Māori.

Allan said the launch of the marine mammal sanctuary — the eighth in New Zealand — was timely, despite the difficulties tourism business faced due to Covid.

Closed international borders had led to a sharp increase in the number of boats visiting the Bay of Islands, and that was likely to continue once Auckland re-opened.

''If we want to reverse the trend of the last 20 years, then this sanctuary is necessary.''

Regarding fur seals, she said expert advice was that all marine mammals had to be included to make the sanctuary work.

Fines for breaking rules are $600 or $800. More serious cases can lead to prosecution, with a maximum jail term of two years or a fine of up to $100,000.