Young Jonathan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeYoung Jonathan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 18 June 2014. Volume:699;Page:18618. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]10.JONATHAN YOUNG (National—New Plymouth)to the Minister of Conservation: What steps has the Government taken to improve marine protection particularly in respect of dolphins?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister of Conservation):This Government has approved a record number of new marine reserves. We have banned shark finning. We have passed a new exclusive economic zone law that requires the Environmental Protection Authority to robustly check proposed activities in our vast ocean area for their environmental effects. Specifically for dolphins we have also implemented compulsory regulations to protect marine mammals from adverse effects from seismic testing. I also note the recent good news that the estimated population of our Hector’s dolphin on the east coast of the South Island is now at 9000 which is significantly up from the previous estimate of 2000. Their west coast sub-species the Māui’s dolphin is the greatest concern and there we have more than doubled the area of protection and banned from set netting which actually is the greatest risk to that species out of 55.Jonathan Young: Has the Minister any concerns for the Māui’s dolphins from the 2014 petroleum block offer to the oil and gas industry in Taranaki?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: No I do not. The vast bulk of the block offer is nowhere near the home of Māui’s dolphin and in fact there has not been a single sighting—despite over 885 sightings—in the area of that block offer. Secondly there has not been a single incident involving a Māui’s dolphin in the oil and gas industry over the last 40 years in the Taranaki region.Hon Ruth Dyson: So is he saying that he is right and that the scientific committee of the International Whaling Commission consisting of 200 whale and dolphin scientists which has said for the third year in a row that these protections he has outlined are inadequate is wrong; if so why is he right and they are all wrong?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I rely on the scientific advice from both my Department of Conservation and the Ministry for Primary Industries. I would point out the International Whaling Commission technical committee has been absolutely up front that it had no interest in issues in respect of the economy of fishing or in respect of the oil and gas industry. It has not been able to provide me any evidence in wanting to go out to 20 nautical miles of the presence. A single report—Hon Ruth Dyson: The International Whaling Commission—listen to them.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I have a single challenge for the member. Show me a single incident or a single record of an observation of a Māui’s dolphin. What members opposite are arguing is that we ban fishing and oil and gas exploration even in areas where there is no record of Māui’s dolphin having ever been observed.Hon Ruth Dyson: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! This is a point of order Dr Russel Norman.Hon Ruth Dyson: I seek leave to table two maps. The first shows in green the nautical mile—Mr SPEAKER: Just describe them very quickly and I will put the leave.Hon Ruth Dyson: —protection that is being offered and the brown existing and continuing line—Mr SPEAKER: Order! OK that one has been described. Would you describe the other.Hon Ruth Dyson: The second one shows in yellow the proposed block offer—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] The member will resume her seat. Those documents have now been adequately described. Leave is sought to table those two maps. Is there any objection? There is none.Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House.