Set nets are death traps for Hector's dolphins

The deaths of twenty endemic Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins this summer should be an alarm call prompting the swift banning of set nets, says Forest & Bird Conservation Advocate Kirstie Knowles.

16 Hector’s dolphins and four Maui’s dolphins have been reported dead, including four cases where entanglement in set nets was confirmed as the highly likely cause of death.”

Kirstie Knowles says the ongoing deaths of these endemic marine mammals, following introduction of interim protection measures in December, demonstrates that the new measures are not enough and more serious action is needed to protect the dolphins.

Forest & Bird is calling for a national set net ban to be put in place.

You can support Forest & Bird’s Hector’s dolphin appeal online at
http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/support/donate/appeal.asp

1080 update

Thanks to the many hundreds of Forest & Bird members and branches that responded to the call to make submissions on the current ERMA reassessment of 1080. Encouragingly, a new ERMA staff report on the application and public submissions releases recently indicates they support approval.

Hihi back in the Waitakere Ranges

Hihi or stitchbirds were successfully returned to the Auckland mainland in February for the first time in 125 years. Thirty of the endangered birds were transferred from Tiri Tiri Matangi Island to the Ark in the Park project site at Cascade Kauri Park in the Waitakere Ranges.

Of the thirty birds released, 17 have been seen since the release, although one male was confirmed dead. Juvenile males have been seen in the company of one another or
with a juvenile female or adult male.

There is currently plenty of natural food available for them including coprosma fruit and pate, lacebark and nikau flowers. Birds have also been seen feeding on kahikatea and horopito fruit for the first time. The majority of sightings have come from listening for their calls while walking the tracks at the site.

The transfer was undertaken as part of the Ark in the Park project, a partnership between Forest & Bird and Auckland Regional Council, supported by the Department of Conservation, Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund, Waitakere City Council, ASB Community Trust and Waitakere and Portage Licensing Trusts.

New Tapuae marine reserve approved

Forest & Bird has welcomed the Government’s approval of the new Tapuae Marine Reserve off the Taranaki coast.

The new reserve was announced by Conservation Minister Chris Carter and Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton in April and will protect 1426-hectares (ha) of coastal waters near New Plymouth from Herekawe Stream to Tapuae Stream.

Forest & Bird Conservation Advocate Kirstie Knowles said Forest & Bird and the Nga Motu Marine Reserve Society have been advocating for the establishment of the reserve for many years and were delighted that their efforts have finally paid off.

“This is a huge gain for marine conservation. Protection of marine biodiversity must take account of the whole marine ecosystem from the sea surface to the seabed, which this reserve will rightly do”.

World's biggest tui lands in Wellington

The world’s biggest tui made its first and only flight in March - on to the roof of Forest & Bird’s central office in Wellington.

The four-metre giant tui was sculpted for Forest & Bird by Wellington prop-makers Izzat Design using polystyrene, steel and resin, and was lifted by crane to its perch on the roof.

The tui, which is depicted about to feed on a kowhai flower, represents Forest & Bird’s tui and kowhai logo, and is sure to become an unmissable icon in central Wellington. Images donated by some of New Zealand’s leading wildlife photographers also form the backdrop to Izzy’s new home.

Communications Officer Laura Richards says that when Forest & Bird moved office last year, the organisation wanted to make its presence felt in a way that was at least as eye-catching as its much-loved conservation-themed mural that covered the previous office in Taranaki Street.

“In collaboration with Izzat Design we came up with the idea of a giant tui, and Izzat have made that idea a reality.”

Notice of 84^th Annual General Meeting

The 84^th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Council Meeting of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. will be held on 22, 23 and 24 June 2007 at Silverstream Retreat, 3 Reynolds Bach Drive, Lower Hutt.
 
The business to be transacted will include the receipt of the annual accounts  and annual report to members. All members are welcome. The AGM will be followed by the council meeting which is conducted by branch representatives.