Leading law, policy and science experts will gather in Wellington this week to tackle the issue of how to reduce the levels of recreational and commercial fishing bycatch that are seriously threatening New Zealand's marine animal species. "Protecting Marine Animals: A Law, Policy and Science Symposium" will be held at the University of Otago Wellington Stadium Centre on Thursday 19 November. Participants in the public symposium will explore future options for enhancing the protection of marine animals in New Zealand fisheries waters. Confirmed speaker line-up and topics:

Hon. Jim Anderton (leader of the Progressive Party) implemented the most comprehensive protection measures for Hector's dolphin in 2008. He was Minister of Fisheries at the time and the fishing industry challenged this decision in court. In his talk "Does the law support sustainability of our fisheries?" he uses the Hector's Dolphin issue as a good example of why the Fisheries Act needs changing. In essence, the Act requires the Minister to keep allowing fishing to continue until he/she can PROVE that sustainability is threatened. The fishing industry argues that this is not true and points to all sorts of provisions and examples that support their view. But this is the practical reality of the way the law functions at present. Where Fisheries' Ministers have been able to be precautionary in the past, this is usually where the industry (for its own reasons) has decided not to challenge their decision.

Shaun McConkey, Elm Wildlife Tours, Chairman of New Zealand Sealion Trust Shaun has been studying NZ sealions since 1994 and completed his MSc on the species in 1997. He works as a scientist and guide for Elm Wildlife Tours. His talk is on "New Zealand Sea Lions: Historic and present day threats". These sea lions were once found throughout New Zealand until hunting brought them to the brink of extinction and limited them to the subantarctic islands. Present day threats include fishing and other direct and indirect human impacts, as well as disease and climate change. With a population decline of 50% in the last 10 years it is important to decide now which effects are having the greatest impact and which effects can be controlled.

Associate Professor Liz Slooten from the Zoology Department at Otago University has carried out research on Hector's dolphin since 1984. Her research has been instrumental in the development of protection measures for this endemic dolphin species. Liz Slooten's talk will discuss a comprehensive new package of protection measures for Hector's dolphin, put in place by Hon. Jim Anderton last year. The effectiveness of these protection measures will be compared with past management and with the rate of population recovery in the absence of fisheries mortality.

Raewyn Peart, Senior Policy Analyst, Environmental Defence Society New Zealand was once a world leader in marine legislation and policy, with innovative approaches to marine reserves, fisheries management and planning for the coastal marine area. But we have now fallen badly behind. Key areas have become dysfunctional, successive amendments have made the system even more fragmented, and marine animals are at increasing risk. Legislative reform is becoming increasingly urgent. This presentation will take a critical look at New Zealand's marine legislative framework as a whole and identify key areas where it is underperforming. It will then canvass key developments in other jurisdictions and propose a marine legislative reform agenda for New Zealand.

Hon. Metiria Turei (co-leader of the Green Party) will discuss her Marine Animals Protection Bill. This Private Member's Bill was pulled from the ballot earlier this year, but voted down by the National/ACT government. It would have made major reforms to the Fisheries, Wildlife and Marine Mammals Protection Acts by incorporating a precautionary principle. The bill provided clear processes to enable Ministers to make fisheries and population management plan decisions that would improve the populations of threatened fish and other marine animals. Metiria will consider the drivers behind the bill, what other potential reforms arise from those issues and the politics behind it.

Nicola Wheen from the Faculty of Law School at the University of Otago is an expert on environmental law. She has written extensively on the legal obstacles to better protection of New Zealand's marine animals. Her talk on "How the law lets down the down under dolphin" closely examines the legislation and case law concerning fishing-related mortality of marine animals. Nicola Wheen will identify specific limitations on the existing legal regime and explain the reforms proposed in the recently-defeated Marine Animals Law Reform Protection Bill. This paper is intended as a basis for discussion of further reform proposals aimed at improving existing legislation.

Catherine J Iorns Magallanes, Senior Lecturer in Law, Victoria University of Wellington Topic: The Precautionary Principle in the New Zealand Fisheries Act: Whose Side is it On?

The New Zealand Fisheries Act 1996 was enacted with the express purpose of implementing international and domestic concerns about protection of the marine environment. Importantly, it incorporates the precautionary principle in s 10. However, recent cases have challenged and struck down decisions where the Minister of Fisheries purported to rely on the precautionary principle to support measures protecting marine mammals from the effects of commercial fishing activities. Moreover, the challengers have argued that s 10 doesn't just protect the environment, but also protects the commercial utilisation of fish stocks. This paper discusses the history and operation of s 10, the recent amendments to the legislation, and the preferred interpretation in respect of the precautionary principle. The paper makes suggestions for how the section incorporating the precautionary principle can be used to better uphold its intended purpose of environmental protection.