Dolphin breaks make waves

By ANNE BESTON environment reporter

Swimmers from tourist boats will have to be dropped at least 30 metres from dolphins in the Bay of Islands under strict rules proposed by the Department of Conservation.

The restrictions - which include a "lunch break" for the dolphins - have angered local boat operators, who question the department's understanding of dolphin behaviour.

A study by marine biologist Dr Rochelle Constantine over the past eight years found bottlenose dolphins in the Bay of Islands had exhibited increased "avoidance behaviour" to swimmers since 1994.

She also found that fewer dolphins in a pod were choosing to swim with humans and the animals exhibited less "resting behaviour" when dedicated dolphin-watching boats were present - as opposed to other boats which tended to hang around for shorter periods.

But her report is being challenged by local operators, who say they know the animals better.

"We're out there 365 days a year, our records contradict DoC's and we don't believe [the report] stands up to closer scrutiny," said Fullers operations manager Jim Whitehorn.

The proposed 30m restriction has particularly angered boat operators.

Mr Whitehorn, involved in dolphin-watching for more than 10 years, said that while 30m did not seem much to a good swimmer, the boats often sailed in choppy, open-sea conditions and older and very young customers would struggle to cover the distance.

Dolphin Discoveries owner Dave Morgan said all four Bay of Islands' licensed operators were unhappy with the proposed changes.

He questioned how restricting viewer times, from 10am to 12 noon and from 2pm to 4pm to give a longer "dolphin lunch break", suggested in Dr Constantine's report, could work.

"What do we do if we go out at 8am and the dolphins are there, tell people not to look?"

At the heart of the debate is whether Dr Constantine or the boat operators know dolphins best.

In her report, Dr Constantine said "milling behaviour", when dolphins bunch together darting in different directions, was not the happy welcome boat operators thought. Instead, they were unwilling to rest because too many boats were there.

But Mr Morgan said operators had had a higher success rate in finding and swimming with dolphins in the past 18 months than ever before.

"As soon as they see our boats they are there. If they were avoiding us, how come we've got such a high success rate?" he said.

DoC area manager Alan Fleming said the changes were up for discussion and operators would continue to be consulted.

"Dolphins are icons of the marine environment and I think everyone in the community has a real interest and concern for their welfare," he said.