Mr Jones said in response to the recent capture of a Hector’s dolphin off the Otago Peninsula, commercial fishers had voluntarily closed the area where it was captured and had deployed dolphin deterrent devices on their set nets across the Otago fleet.
If there was another capture in the area he would get "urgent advice" from Fisheries New Zealand about whether a regulatory response was warranted.
"Any decision I take would be with the best available evidence to ensure continued protection of Hector’s dolphins while considering possible effects on people’s livelihoods."
Marine scientists estimate about 40 protected Hector’s dolphins live off Dunedin’s coast from Taiaroa Head in the south to Karitane in the north.
Two were caught in set nets last year — one in April and one in November.
However, because the fishing year does not begin until October 1, the fishing related mortality limit for the area — of two deaths — has not been met.
Mr Jones said there were already "significant protections" in place for Hector’s dolphins, including about 17,650sqkm of New Zealand’s coastline closed to set netting and about 6,988sqkm of trawl measures, including closures and gear restrictions.
Those measures had been effective in reducing the risk of fishing related deaths of Hector’s dolphins.
The fishing related mortality limits allowed him to act quickly to ensure the limit for a defined area was not exceeded.
The present measures in place for the Otago coast would be in place until fishers agreed to final voluntary measures for the full fishing year.
"Depending on those final voluntary measures, I can then consider whether further measures are needed to ensure the [fishing related mortality limit] is not exceeded."
Fisheries New Zealand acting fisheries management director Marianne Lukkien said the present voluntary closure, put in place after the latest capture, overlapped some of the area closed when the first Hector’s dolphin was caught last year.
It included both capture areas "and the zone of highest set netting activity".
In addition to deploying the dolphin deterrent devices, known as pingers, all vessels operating in the area were monitored through on-board cameras.
The present measures were "interim".
"We’re expecting industry to table proposed longer-term measures over the next few months."
