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and he would have to include himself in his minority report as a promoter of a niche sport "I feel discriminated against by DOLPHINS!!" It's a losing battle in the PR space, he should have played his hand better. No one is going to win against flipper! He could have said we delayed racing to do our part in the global conservation movement and show our commitment to the environment blah blah blah and everyone would be on his side!

So, no one is vetoing the date or the activity, a contract is in place, but Russell (sail GP) continue to thrash about throwing allegations about unnamed parties who are stymying the entire New Zealand economy. Conspiracy theory much? Let's be honest, unless you can show up with a marine biology qualification with a major in mammalian sealife, your thoughts on the capabilities of dolphins vis a vis an F50 are conjecture at best. Well intentioned and honest, but uninformed in its most literal of senses. The people who do have this expertise seem to think there is a problem. For

Well we killed 10 of them in commercial nets in the last 6 months, any discussion around who's eating Hoki? I have dived my whole life, and am passionate about conservation & the world's oceans. But eventually we should acknowledge the impact we are having on the planet. We need to strike a balance. And imho the race there proceeding is in that balance. There seems to be an assumption that the race meant a dead dolphin, which is far from the reality. It's a marine mammal reserve, complete with a commercial port, power boats, marina and a boat ramp. Oh yeah, and a sewage overflow?

Sometimes where theories are hard to prove either way, it is prudent to revert to empirical data. Whilst it is often hard to obtain full datasets, some empirical data is usually better than none at supporting a hypothesis. The available data is that 34 events have been held globally, and marine mammals have not been harmed. That includes 10 races in this commercial port / mammal sanctuary. Given that the verified number of Hector's dolphins is 15,000, it sounds like there is plenty of them around to hit, and they haven't managed that, so perhaps the dolphins are smarter than we give

Been using my noodle...s.

The Americas cup can be taken out of the equation.Thats purely a Dalton thing,didnt get his way so takes the cup away,. 15000 maui spread around the west coast/lower east coast is not a great number. Seperating Mum and calf is the issue,minority sport and seems here or over the other place you are in the minority group wanting to have GP regardless of NZ sanctuary. Why sign an agreement then cry??

Repeating for clarity. "DOC does not have a role in permitting or allowing the race to go ahead. DOC’s role is to advocate for marine mammals and to carry out compliance functions if any incidents involving protected wildlife were to occur which may have broken the law." As it happens, neither do iwi. There is a requirement to consult, but they do not have a right of veto. Russell's problem is he wants a race in a marine sanctuary, but he doesn't want to stop racing if it's a problem. Now he wants that all at a time that is particularly problematic ie breeding season. Whe

It was rather a lot more about RC not getting his way. Nothing happened that he did not agree to beforehand. The agreement was (I understand) virtually unchanged from the previous year. Sail GP has already signed an agreement for next year with (presumably) similar requirements attached to it. Talk of red tape is therefore grossly over-wrought since there was none wrapped around any of the deal this year or next. He's like the housebuyer who is trying to renegotiate the terms after they have signed the agreement.

I went to the event. I will echo what Bad KItty said. Its incredible. I thought I knew all about it all, and was on the water for all bar 3(?) days of the AC when it was here. The sailGP is another level of viewing. in person is soooo much better than on tv, I wasn't expecting that. I hope it is in Lyttleton again, or anywhere in NZ for that matter - I'll be going.

It is funny how people forget that marine mammal sanctuary is also a major commercial port. Ground zero for med fan worm too. How outrageous to want to hold this event at a commercial port. Lunacy. Completely reckless. Lyttleton is hardly a tranquil fjord in the depths of a National Park and the sole habitat of one armed starfish and unicorn seahorses. That, and his main issues aren't with the dolphins, it is with the bureaucracy and cost of dealing with red tape and minority groups with disproportionate power. We have a major productivity issue in NZ, GDP per capita is plummet

Various govt ministers are calling the application of the law "red tape" so in effect are saying there should be a favourable application of it to suit private interests, the courts may view it differently, The Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978 applies (its been around a long time) and while I think there's a very small chance that a dolphin would be hit it's not zero so who is going to take responsibility here if they do? The main point is that SailGP helped write the agreement and signed it! Its like the ministers complaining that the event cant proceed when its blowing 30kts because wind

If you listen to the whole interview its not really about the dolphins. Sail GP is ok with protecting the wildlife. Its more about the Iwi. Nowhere else in the world do they need to pay upwards of 300k to appease the various authorities. The layers of bureaucracy all trying to tiptoe around the Iwi and the dolphin huggers go absolutely over the top. There were a dozen iwi appointed so called dolphin experts on $600 plus expenses per day from last Wednesday. Sir Russell called it right. The woke madness around stuff these days is just too hard. The rest of the world bends over backward