A mass whale stranding in the Chatham Islands in October, 2022. Photo: Supplied / Tamzin Henderson
A leading oceanographer says ships and boats may be behind an increase in whale and dolphin strandings.
New Zealand has the highest rate of beached mammals in the world.
The founder of Mission Blue, Sylvia Earle, said there were documented cases of the effects of high sound volumes.
She told The Future of Facts conference in Manila that motorised vessels were causing a cacophony of noise which might be damaging communication channels that whales used.
She also called for a ban on deep sea mining, saying we were "squandering the chance" to protect one of the last bastions of diversity.
The government has rejected calls for a ban, and critics have called its strategy a love letter to offshore mining companies.
Resource Minister Shane Jones described the opposition as a "tiny group of green cultists" and argued deep sea mining would create regional jobs and move the country away from relying on minerals extracted overseas.
Earle said it was a crucial time for recognising safe operating boundaries in the marine environment.
Gill Bonnett travelled to the Philippines with the assistance of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
