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A southern right whale seen in Wellington Harbour may signal the return of an endangered species, a scientist says.

Dozens of people watched from the shore while a pair of divers and kayakers came within metres of the 13-metre giant as it swam around Scorching and Karaka bays on Miramar peninsula on Saturday.

Conservation Department marine mammal scientist Louise Chilvers said the right whale species was threatened.

"They've been virtually absent from New Zealand since the whaling days. They were almost hunted to extinction. It's just amazing that they are coming back.

"They are very cool animals. Even though they are 18 tonnes ... they are so gentle."

Dr Chilvers said the whales fed in Antarctic waters before calving in the Auckland Islands, about 465 kilometres south of Bluff, during summer.

It was believed they once calved around New Zealand, and Dr Chilvers hoped the sighting on Saturday was a sign they were coming back.

Karaka Bay resident Gail Higgs-West first noticed the great shape moving in the water about 11am but it was still there as she ate dinner at 6pm.

Throughout the day, passing motorists stopped for a look and dozens of people came down to Karaka Bay wharf.

"It was sort of awe-inspiring. [It looks like] a bus in the water – underneath there is this massive animal. We were really impressed by how people behaved – if they were in a canoe, they let the whale come to them," Ms Gail Higgs-West said.

"[On the shore] it was nice and peaceful, with people just standing quietly watching. It was great for the kids to see wildlife on our doorstep like that."

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THE country’s controversial dolphin hunting and trading will be highlighted at an international tuna conference next month in Bangkok.

Mark Berman, Associate Director for the Earth Island Institute (EII) based in the United States, said the World Tuna conference will be held from the 13th to 15th September with some 900 tuna executives from around the globe attending.

He is one of the speakers at the conference where he’ll discuss the dolphin hunting and trading in the country.

Mr Berman said dolphin hunting and trading here is a stumbling block to potential investments in the tuna industry.

Mr Berman also lashed out at Francis Chow who continues to “deceive the public about the dolphin trade he is involved in”.

He said Mr Chow failed to admit that four dolphins died in the past six weeks.

More than a week ago Mr Chow told AAP that his 'Solomons Marine Wildlife Park' was an adequate dolphin enclosure.

"We are not killing the dolphins, we are exporting them to marine parks in Australia or America, we are not breaking any laws.

"I follow the law, we use scientists, follow procedures.

"Why don't those hypocrites stop driving Japanese cars and go and harass the Japanese whalers.

"They harass us, bully local MPs, trespass and give us a hard time. I don't know why all the fuss?"

Mr Chow said last year he traded 20 dolphins and hoped to sell as many this year.

But Mr Berman said the dolphin business is like cancer killing the country because if it continues it will deny much needed jobs for locals.

“Frabelle tuna is ready to get started but waiting to see when the new government takes action and gets rid of this disgusting dolphin trade which is like a cancer on the development of the country of the Solomon Islands,” he said.

Mr Berman said he will be discussing all of these problems face by the country in his speech at the World Tuna Conference.

This year’s conference exhibition is the 11th in the series of biennial global tuna industry events, jointly organised by INFOFISH and several other international and regional organizations.

Over 30 well-known key tuna industry leaders from all over the world will address TUNA 2010 on challenges and issues faced by the industry in today increasingly competitive and volatile global tuna scenario.

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A fishing vessel sank last week because the captain tried to take on too many fish in one net, survivors told a rescue vessel's crew.

The captain of Talley's Amaltal Atlantis, Greg Lyall, said survivors told his crew the captain of the Oyang 70 would not listen to protests about the fish haul.

Soon after the ship began listing, and water flooded the onboard factory and engine room, Lyall said. Six people were lost when the ship sank 750 kilometres from Dunedin.

Lyall's account is contained in an email passed on to The Press by a spokesman for the NZ Fishing: Keep it Kiwi lobby group, Daren Coulston.

Lyall said the ship went down in 10 minutes on Wednesday and he was told "the captain was standing on the bridge with no lifejacket on and arms folded; he did not want to get off".

"The crew decided for themselves it was time to run for the liferafts. Most were under water and had to swim to the rafts. The skipper refused to wear a lifejacket and wanted to stay on board," he said.

Some crew described the captain as "greedy" or "stupid", said Lyall, who estimated the catch to be 132 tonnes.

Christchurch-based Southern Storm Fishing, which chartered the Oyang 70, would not comment on the reasons for the sinking.

However, a spokesman said the 1600-ton Oyang 70 was a deepwater vessel, built for that environment and type of fishing.

"The captain of the Oyang 70 had experience fishing for southern blue whiting. However, many of the crew had no experience of this fishery, although they did have deep-sea fishing experience."

Talley's Nelson branch chief executive Tony Hazlett confirmed the contents of Lyall's email.

"The things that they heard upset the crew of our vessel. I hope the New Zealand authorities will take note of it," Hazlett said.

The Amaltal Atlantis was among several vessels to respond to a mayday call.

Forty-five crewmen were rescued, but three died. Three other men, including South Korean captain Shin Hyeon Gi, 42, are still missing.

The last injured crew member was released from Christchurch Hospital yesterday.

Thirty-seven Indonesian and Filipino crew members left Christchurch Airport yesterday morning.

Indonesian Dodo, 38, said he was "very happy" to be leaving.

"We are all OK; no problem," he said.

A Filipino crew member said he had been asleep when the Oyang 70 capsized.

Southern Storm Fishing operations manager Russ Barron said all of the crew were in good health, but could not talk about the incident as it was being investigated by the coroner. "They've been fed, they've been clothed, they've been paid, they've been treated, all in accordance with New Zealand law," he said.

Pete Dawson, ship agent for the Oyang 70, said the crew were very apprehensive. "They only had a couple of hours rest after the [Amaltal Atlantis] arrived [at Lyttelton] and then interviews started by the police and the TAIC [Transport Accident Investigation Commission]."

Detective Senior Sergeant John Rae said several South Korean crew remained in Christchurch and police had a "good handle on the story".

A Transport Accident Investigation Commission spokesman had no comment. A report could take up to two years.

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The dolphin trading by one of the Solomon Islands' exporter has not gone well with a leading animal right organization. Solomons dolphin activist Lawrence Makili who is the Earth Island Institute's Pacific Regional Director has told AAP that despite the institute's tireless efforts to end the live trade, one dolphin dealer had retarded the momentum.

But Francis Chow, a local businessman who is blamed for restraining and stressing out eight dolphins in a tiny shallow pool for six months informed that his park was neither killing nor breaking any laws on dolphin trade rather exporting them to marine parks in Australia or the US. In response to the protest, Chow said the hypocrite protestors should stop driving Japanese cars, and should harass the Japanese whalers.

However, Chow seemed to be unaware of the fact the people behind the protest played a part to delay Japanese dolphin or whaling hunt last season. Renowned dolphin activist and member of Earth Island Institute's Marine Mammal Team Ric O'Barry along with his son Lincoln O'Barry exposed the world to the shocking truth of slaughter of thousands of dolphins in Japan in an award winning documentary called 'The Cove' last year.

Despite opposition from both the Australian and New Zealand governments, Solomons dolphins are captured and sold to aquariums, marine parks and even hotels around the world, often fetching as much as $200,000. The Earth Island Institute's effort to stop dolphin trade is believed to have converted the so-called 'Darth-Vader' of the Solomons’ dolphin trade, the Canadian Chris Porter from a seller to a savior.

Makili said the Solomons government once banned the trade but now, in the pursuit of much-needed revenue, ignored directives by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Though Solomons government allows about 50 from the earlier quota of 100 dolphins, the CITES recommends just 10 numbers.

Some Solomon Islanders still hunt dolphins for food and use their teeth for traditional 'shell money' but since 2003 they have also been hunted to exploit the lucrative live export market. The documentary ‘The Cove’ had exposed the senseless annual slaughter of approximately 20,000 dolphins at the remote Taiji, Japan.

The O'Barry father-son combine is showcasing another mini-series on massive ecological crimes happening worldwide. The Animal Planet on August 27, 2010 would be airing a three-part mini-series titled "Blood Dolphins", and would highlight how the tiny nation of nearly 1,000 islands in the South Pacific has emerged as a major challenge in the blood trade of wild dolphins.

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