Application by Napier City Council (National Aquarium of New Zealand)
Have your say on Napier City Council's application to hold Marine Mammal Items. They want a permit to hold marine mammal bones in the National Aquarium of New Zealand's collection. Submission closed 18 March 2020.

Pursuant to section 5 (5) of the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978, and to a delegation from the Minister of Conservation, the Operations Manager, Napier, we're notifying the public of a permit application from Napier City Council (National Aquarium of New Zealand) to hold marine mammals items in their collection.

Application details

Applicant: Napier City Council (National Aquarium of New Zealand)

Proposed activity: To hold approximately 74 items of marine mammal bones within the National Aquarium of New Zealand's collection for educational purposes.

Species of items:

  • NZ fur seal
  • Leopard seal
  • California sea lion
  • Pygmy sperm whale
  • Sperm whale
  • possible Southern Right Whale
  • Unknown pinnipeds

Item types:

  • bones including skulls, vertebrae, ribs, mandible, pelvis and spine
  • skins mounted on board and in jars
  • organs in jars

Source(s) of items: 

Summary of proposal: Napier City Council (National Aquarium of New Zealand) would like to hold a variety of 74 marine mammal items as part of their handling collection. This collection is used as part of educational programming for schools and public audiences. At present, the aquarium offers learning experiences outside the classroom, engaging with 16,000 students over a three year period. They hope to use these additional resources to enrich the learning experience.

Permit type applied for: Permission to hold marine mammal items.

Application document: Form 12b - Napier City Council (National Aquarium of New Zealand) application document (PDF, 911K)

How to make a submission

Submission closed 18 March 2020.

Any person or organisation may make a submission on the proposal.

1. Prepare your submission

You can have your say by posting us your feedback in writing.

Once submitted, submitters' information is subject to the Official Information Act 1982 and may be released under that Act. If you wish to keep any part of your submission confidential, state this in writing when making your submission.

2. Send us your submission

Tell us what you think by posting your submission to:

Christchurch Shared Services Unit
Department of Conservation
Private Bag 4715
Christchurch Mail Centre
Christchurch, 8140

Attention: Jenny Nelson-Smith, Operations Manager, Napier

Submissions closed Wednesday 18 March 2020.