Penguin trust uses tourism angle to push for observers

The Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust has sought the support of Tourism Dunedin for its campaign to ensure the continuation of observer programmes on commercial fishing vessels.

The Ministry of Fisheries ran a two-month observer programme last summer investigating the interaction between fishing vessels and protected species.

Preliminary results from that study showed observers documented fishing-related deaths of five endangered yellow-eyed penguins off the east and south coast of the South Island, nine near-threatened sooty shearwaters off the east coast and 24 albatrosses of various types, off the east and west coasts.

Trust general manager Dave McFarlane said more and better data was needed, because last summer's observer programme had provided only a "snapshot" of an ongoing situation.

The Ministry of Fisheries had been "receptive" to the trust's views.

Funding for the inshore programme was in the budget, but not increased as the previous Government had planned, he said.

"We'll take what we've got and keep pushing for the best observer programme affordable."

To that end, the trust had highlighted the issue with Tourism Dunedin.

Chief executive Hamish Saxton said as Tourism Dunedin was involved with marketing the city, rather than being a lobbying group for tourism businesses, it surveyed eight eco-tourism businesses to get the opinion of those who worked with, and relied upon, those threatened and endangered species.

"Protection of threatened species is enormously important to the city as a whole," he said.

He received six positive responses and one strongly negative response, to the concept of supporting the continuation of the observer programme.

"We have simply communicated the response of the tourism operators to the trust," he said.

The negative response suggested more seabird deaths were caused by dogs or were the result of land management practices than were the result of fishing by-catch, Mr Saxton said.