Hector’s dolphin advocates are celebrating SailGP’s decision to not race high speed foiling yachts in Hector’s dolphin Lyttelton harbour habitat, announced today.
Māui and Hector’s Dolphin Defenders chair, Christine Rose, says ‘Lyttelton harbour was never the right place for a high speed boat race, since it’s the home of the endemic Hector’s dolphins’.
‘With appropriate planning and respect for the marine environment and its rare inhabitants, Lyttelton harbour should have been avoided from the outset”.
“We and our supporters are all very pleased that the decision has been made, to host the SailGP races elsewhere in 2025. We trust that will be somewhere Hector’s dolphins do not also live.”
“Hector’s dolphins already face too many threats. Over fifty have been reported dead since 2021. More than 11 have been reported killed by the fishing industry since November 2023. Boat collisions have killed potentially three in the last year or so, according to the Department of Conservation’s Incident Database”, says Mrs Rose.
“The decision to go elsewhere in 2025 is a win for the dolphins and their supporters. In the right place, sailing and dolphins can co-exist. This was the wrong place for the race. The decision to move the racing elsewhere is also a win for certainty in race planning, and common sense.”
Good to see Chch Council did not back down to the pressure from Coutts .Sail GP is good for the country but not at the expense of the dolphins.
Coutts is all about himself his private golf course is draining most of the precious water out of the local stream and last I heard the locals were really pissed off. The sailing was in a protective marine so what do you expect.
Yes, we need money in little Aotearoa but not all costs.
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