12. Question No. 12—ConservationGARETH HUGHES (Green) to the Minister of ConservationQuestion No. 12—Conservation12. GARETH HUGHES (Green) to the Minister of Conservation: Is she satisfied that the proposals for an updated threat management plan will better protect Hector's and Māui dolphins; if so why?Hon EUGENIE SAGE (Minister of Conservation): Yes. The options for Hector's dolphins include extending the Banks Peninsula marine mammal sanctuary from 4 to 20 nautical miles offshore; expanding the areas closed to set netting by 6500 square kilometres and the areas closed to trawling by 6300 square kilometres to protect Hector's dolphins from the risk of by-kill in fishing nets; and also doubling the size of the Banks Peninsula marine mammal sanctuary. The options proposed for Māui dolphin include more than doubling the area closed to set netting and trawling to protect Māui from bycatch in set nets and trawl nets and extending the West Coast marine mammal sanctuary.Gareth Hughes: What changes to existing marine mammal sanctuaries are proposed? [Interruption] SPEAKER: Order! Who interjected from my left?Jonathan Young: I did.SPEAKER: Right. Well because of previous good behaviour consider himself warned.Hon EUGENIE SAGE: Five marine mammal sanctuaries are in place to protect both Māui and Hector's dolphins. The West Coast North Island marine mammal sanctuary was established specifically to protect Māui dolphins. The discussion document proposes to extend it from New Plymouth south to Wellington and it proposes to extend the Banks Peninsula sanctuary to protect Hector's dolphins north to Kaikōura south to Timaru and from 4 nautical miles out to 20 nautical miles from the coast. It also proposes improved protection against seismic surveys and seabed mining.SPEAKER: Before we go to that I should just explain it's not just because I know and respect the member's parents that I was soft on him; there was a provocative—just in time—interjection from the Hon Shane Jones which stimulated the inappropriate reply.Hon Tracey Martin: Can she confirm that the document is merely a discussion document and that no decisions have been made by the Government at this stage and that the Government looks forward to receiving all submissions?Hon EUGENIE SAGE: The document is a discussion document. It is informed by the best available science and an international peer review and I and the Minister of Fisheries look forward to receiving public submissions.Gareth Hughes: What is the threat posed by seismic surveys?Hon EUGENIE SAGE: Seismic surveys are used by the oil gas and mining industry to look for mineral deposits and by scientific researchers to survey seabed features. The acoustic noise involved in those surveys has the potential to cause hearing damage to dolphins and to disturb their breeding feeding and resting behaviours.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Have a look at Western Australia. They go mad for it.Hon EUGENIE SAGE: So currently under the regime we've inherited dolphins have got less protection—SPEAKER: Order! I am going to interrupt the member and say that there might be some debate around the science of the effect of loud noises on dolphins; there's not much on me at the moment. It's getting too loud and I don't want to sort of require the member to be quiet because it's a bit too optimistic even for me.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Well I just want to acknowledge that loud noise can annoy a lot of people and I particularly want to make it clear that I certainly would not want to see a man of your recently acquired age being subjected to the same would you say rigours and responsibilities as the dolphin population which has massively expanded as a result of the seismic work in Western Australia.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Mr Speaker—SPEAKER: Well I will—before calling the member—thank him for the card which I received in the mail. Rt Hon Winston Peters: Oh you're welcome. Can I just say to that just as a precaution we in this House might have crossed the divide politically but we'll always be concerned with noises made by endangered species. I think you've been rather harsh there.SPEAKER: There are times when I regret thanking the member. We'll go back to Eugenie Sage who has been probably a bit more loquacious than she needs to be in this answer.Hon EUGENIE SAGE: Currently dolphins have got less protection in the sanctuaries from seismic surveys than in the exclusive economic zone so the options include applying the code of acoustic disturbance in the sanctuaries to prohibiting seismic surveys within the sanctuaries.Gareth Hughes: What is the threat to the dolphins posed by seabed mining?Hon EUGENIE SAGE: Seabed mining's got the potential to impact on the dolphins through a combination of noise major changes to their habitat and sedimentation effects and that's why the document proposes options from prohibiting mining within the sanctuaries to an expanded buffer area beside the sanctuaries.