An independent decision-maker will be able to pause the global race series SailGP if endangered dolphins get too close to the boats.
The Department of Conservation said it wanted to avoid the possibility of Hector's dolphins appearing on the racecourse and the potential for a collision between a dolphin and one of the sharp foils on the very fast but quiet boats.
"Given the televised event has more than 50 million worldwide viewers, a collision leading to dead or injured dolphins is not ideal for New Zealand's tourism image," the statement read.
In response to the risk, a revised Marine Mammal Management Plan has been released for the event on Lyttelton/Whakaraupō Harbour on March 23 and 24.
The plan was devised to protect Hector’s dolphins during the event and to comply with the relevant Marine Mammals Protection Regulations.
Developed by SailGP officials with Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke and the Department of Conservation, it built on a "comprehensive plan" from last year.
Jared Petterson, an environmental consultant and lead author of the plan, has been appointed the independent decision-maker.
He would oversee the delivery of the integrity of the plan in all training and racing scenarios, which included "the power to delay or pause racing in line with agreed protocols”.
The plan said observation efforts have been concentrated around the event area to further increase the ability to track any mammal sighting in the vicinity of racing.
There will be more on-land and on-water observers. A 300m extension of the shutdown zone has been included around the full perimeter of the racecourse boundary "to ensure boats travelling above 5 knots do not come within 300 metres of a marine mammal".
Last month, a departmental memo to Conservation Minister Tama Potaka released to 1News under the Official Information Act revealed there was an incident during the final race in 2023.
It stated two dolphins crossed the boundary into the race zone as racing vessels approached the final marker.
Eleven have died since August, most caught in commercial nets. (Source: 1News)
"The SailGP race director did not make the call to cease racing or instruct the boats to drop off the foils, which was a breach of their MMMP.
"The consequences for SailGP breaching the MMMP were not clear-cut, given the plan was not legally binding.
"We have investigated the incident and were unable to establish that an offence took place… we could not be certain the yachts were within 300m of the dolphins, and there is no evidence to indicate the individual skippers were aware of the dolphins," the statement read.
No Hector's dolphins were injured or killed during the 2023 event.
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