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The Government is considering further measures to protect Maui’s dolphins as a new study points to a decline in numbers of the critically endangered species.

A population assessment commissioned by the Department of Conservation shows the number of adult dolphins has gone down in the six years since the previous assessment, with an estimated 55 adult animals remaining.

The Government is considering a proposal to establish differential fishing licences for overseas anglers, Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson announced today.

Last year the Minister asked Fish and Game NZ to provide a report on the rationale on for a non- resident fishing licence and charging a differential licence fee for visiting anglers fishing in Fish and Game New Zealand regions.

This report, which included input from the Department of Conservation, then went out for public consultation.

Seaweek is all about inspiring New Zealanders to celebrate and learn from the sea, Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson said at the national launch of Seaweek last night.

“New Zealand’s seas are more than 15 times larger than our land area, and home to more than 15,000 known species, many not found anywhere else in the world,” she said.

The launch event at Auckland Zoo kicked off a week of marine conservation activities around the country, and at last count more than 120 events had been registered.

Public conservation land around Nelson has been given a boost with the Government purchasing 333 hectares of private land beside Kahurangi National Park.

The forested block on the coast between Big River and Kahurangi Point, north-west of Nelson, is home to the endangered land snail (Powelliphanta gillesi kahurangica) and one of the area’s last remaining lowland coastal populations of the great spotted kiwi (Apteryx haastii). The coast is also home to the nationally rare sand kanuka.

Associate Conservation Minister and UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne today led legislation for a Game Animal Council to its First Reading in Parliament, delivering on a key provision of the party’s confidence and supply agreement with National.

“This Bill is a key part of UnitedFuture’s confidence and supply agreement and I am delighted we have been able to deliver on it so early in the parliamentary term,” Mr Dunne said.

Mr Speaker, I move that the Game Animal Council Bill be read for a first time.

I propose to refer the Bill to the Local Government and Environment Committee.

This Bill delivers on the Government’s 2008 confidence and supply agreement with UnitedFuture to “proceed with the establishment of a Big Game Hunting Council as part of a national wild game management strategy with a view to it becoming a statutory authority”.

Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson has praised Genesis Energy Ltd for their work with the Department of Conservation (DOC) to increase numbers of the rare native whio (blue duck).

Ms Wilkinson visited Turangi’s National Trout Centre today for the official launch of the Genesis Energy Whio National Recovery Project.

Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson was shocked to learn of the discovery of a pair of endangered Hectors dolphins that washed up inside a marine sanctuary.

The two dolphins were found entangled in a fishing net on the beach near the Waimakariri River mouth yesterday, around 30km inside the northern limit of the Banks Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary.

The 413,000 hectare zone covers Banks Peninsula and stretches north to the Waipara River.

Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson has praised the generosity of a private family trust which has launched a multi-million dollar conservation project in Abel Tasman National Park.

Project Janszoon is a partnership between the Department of Conservation and the Project Janszoon Trust. It aims to restore biodiversity - essentially the variety of plant and animal life - to around 80 per cent of the park over the next 30 years.

“Our indigenous flora and fauna are a major part of New Zealand’s culture and heritage,” Ms Wilkinson says.

18 February 2012

Welcome everybody who has made the journey today.

In particular I'd like to welcome Kaikoura MP, Colin King, and Hurunui District Council Mayor, Winton Dalley, and also members of the Combined 4WD Clubs.

Driving into the heart of the St James Conservation Area today has been a unique and special opportunity – certainly a first for me and probably for you. This is a place normally reserved for those who travel by foot, bike or horse. It's mid-way in the St James Walkway and not far from the St James Cycle Trail.

Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson has applauded a private kiwi breeding project for its important contribution to conservation.

This initiative, which started in 2006, saw the release of the 100th kiwi into the privately owned 15,000 acre Maungataniwha Native Forest, in the northern Hawke’s Bay, yesterday.

Ms Wilkinson congratulated the Forest Life Force Restoration Trust and their backer entrepreneur Simon Hall who own the land and are one of the driving forces behind the project.

Saturday 11 February 2012

Forest Life Force Restoration Trust
Special guests: Simon Hall, Tasti CEO and Rachel Hunter

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share in this incredible milestone with you all; in what is arguably one of New Zealand's most significant private environmental initiatives.

Firstly, I would like to thank Simon for the invitation and welcome. It's great to be here with you all and a special welcome to Trust patron Rachel Hunter.

Sixteen aerially assisted trophy hunting (AATH) concessions are to be granted by Associate Conservation Minister Peter Dunne under the Wild Animal Control Act.

The Minister said he was obliged to consider the applications within the framework of current legislation and has decided on the following under Section 22 of the Act:

Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson tomorrow launched the game bird habitat stamp and art prints for 2012 to mark World Wetlands Day, held internationally on February 2 each year.

New Zealand’s game bird habitat stamps initiative is based on the successful American model where the stamps are used to endorse hunting licences with funds raised going towards waterfowl conservation projects.

Minister of Conservation, Kate Wilkinson, today paid tribute to missing Department of Conservation volunteer Mihai Muncus-Nagy, who is presumed to have been swept off rocks on Raoul Island on Monday in a tragic accident.

"My thoughts and sympathies are today with the family of Mr Muncus-Nagy in Romania.

“Mihai was a dedicated and passionate conservationist. He was carrying out valuable conservation work on behalf of the department on this remote and special island," says Ms Wilkinson.