The Mayor of Napier Barbara Arnott says the council wants clarification from the Government as to where it stands on the future of captive dolphins. Ms Arnott has spoken to the Local Government and Environment Select Committee about a petition from Labour MP Russell Fairbrother on replacing dolphins at the city's Marineland.

Mr Fairbrother suggested to the committee three weeks ago that Marineland could be used as a breeding facility for the endangered Maui dolphin. Barbara Arnott says to her knowledge the Maui dolphin has never been bred in captivity and council staff at Marineland do not have any expertise in the area.

At the same time, Minister of Fisheries Jim Anderton plans to introduce measures to limit the actions of fishers and protect Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins. 20 people recently attended a meeting in Blenheim organised by the Ministry of Fisheries and the Department of Conservation to discuss possible new rules. Under the proposals Cloudy and Clifford Bays would become a new marine mammal sanctuary.

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