The Department of Conservation announced yesterday that it would take no further action over an incident in which it was alleged a woman smacked Moko with an oar or paddle when he was playing in Omaio bay two weeks ago. Aroha Grant, the waka ama coach who believes she was the alleged offender, denied the accusations, telling the OPOTIKI NEWS she was merely slapping the water near Moko to scare him away after she became fearful for her own safety. She said the boisterous bottlenose dolphin had run into her paddle accidentally and broken it. Following an investigation in which DoC staff received statements from the alleged offender and witnesses, staff recommended no prosecution be taken. East Coast-Bay of Plenty conservator Henry Weston said: "The report determined that there was insufficient evidence for a prosecution and DoC will not be pursuing the matter." While the report did recommend a warning be issued to the alleged offender under the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978, Mr Weston said this was not necessary given the lack of evidence. "The legal and social issues are not straightforward when dealing with a dolphin that actively seeks out human interaction. The Marine Mammals Protection Act is focused on managing human interactions with marine mammals, rather than vice versa." Mr Weston recommended that the public be informed of the need for caution in any interaction with the dolphin, to protect both Moko and themselves. He also made it clear that action would be taken where it could be determined that intentional harassment had occurred. Under the act, the maximum penalty for assaulting a marine mammal is six months imprisonment or a $250,000 fine. Ms Grant could not be reached for comment yesterday, but last week she told the OPOTIKI NEWS that she was worried people were so taken in by the dolphin's "cuteness" they were forgetting he was a wild animal and potentially dangerous. "If it was a shark, everyone would have been grabbing a gun to shoot it. However, because it's a "cute" dolphin, it's okay for him to ram our boats and cause damage to our equipment." Ms Grant said she had not struck Moko and added: "Is it going to take a death before people realise this is a wild animal - they are strong, they are unpredictable. "I'm upset that the hype of this dolphin has blinded people from being concerned for our children's safety." DoC has confirmed that Moko is in good health and is behaving normally and that no signs of injury are visible. Two scars on his dorsal fin that have been reported as resulting from the alleged attack are old scars from an earlier incident.