12 Nov 2012

Maui's dolphin review gets 21,000 submissions

2:26 pm on 12 November 2012

More than 21,000 people have submitted their views on how the rare Maui's dolphins should be managed.

Submissions close at 5pm Monday on the review of the Maui's dolphins plan, developed in 2007.

Earlier this year, the Ministry for Primary Industries placed a ban on set nets up to two nautical miles off the Taranaki coast, to protect what is thought to be the remaining 55 adults of the species.

The ministry's deputy director-general, Scott Gallacher, says this is among the highest number of submissions received on a topic, and is a testament to how passionate New Zealanders are about their marine environments.

He says it is too early to say how many are for and against further protection measures.