Heroic dolphins killed

NEW Zealand fishermen may have killed two of the dolphins that recently helped protect swimmers from a great white shark attack.

Two dead dolphins were found on Wednesday in a river in the upper reaches of Whangarei Harbor, on North Island's east coast, said animal protection officer Jim Boyd.

Their tails had been hacked off, and officials believe they may have been mutilated by criminals poaching fish.

Three weeks ago, a pod of seven dolphins saved a group of swimmers from a predatory great white shark at a beach near Whangarei city, 823km north of the capital Wellington.

The protective dolphins have been hailed as the humans' saviours after the incident was reported this week.

Lifeguard Rob Howes and trainee Helen Slade today said they feared the two mammals may have been part of the pod that ganged up to protect them and other swimmers from the circling great white.

An angry Howes called the netting and mutilation of the dolphins "indiscriminate murder".

"This is how we repay them for their help," he said.

But Department of Conservation area manager John Gardiner said there are hundreds of dolphins in the area, and there was no way of knowing if the dead animals were involved in warding off the shark.

Gardiner said it appeared the dolphins had been snagged in illegal fishing nets.

Fishing with illegal nets, failing to report finding a dolphin in a net, and mutilating a marine mammal are all offences carrying a maximum $NZ10,000 ($9073) fine.

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