Just before the end of winter our Operation Pahu crew managed to get out a few times in good weather in Te Waewae. Another Tohorā and calf was spotted. We believe it was a different pair from the week before which is great news! No so great were the amount of trawlers working in this Marine Mammal Sanctuary. Today we saw about five. Some of them get very upset we are watching them. Not sure how they will ever tolerant onboard cameras then? We are deeply disappointed this current Government chose not to completely shut down commercial fishing in this iconic bay as was promised in their draft Threat Management Plan for Hector’s and Maui. This could prove costly as we may consider a similar action to our current US Maui legal case to protect the Pahu in 2022.
