New Zealand minister defends fishers after two orcas killed in net (opens in new tab)

Fishing minister Shane Jones described the deaths of the critically endangered mammals in separate incidents as an "unpleasant outcome", adding he "thought orcas were quite intelligent". "It's not a happy outcome for the whale, but these things happen," Jones said. "If you look at it from the perspective of the sea captain he's on a vessel about 30 or 40 feet, and a killer whale is about five or six tonnes," Jones said, describing it as a "kodak moment". "So he would have got a hell of a shoc...