Pōpoto / Māui Dolphins are some of the world's smallest and most endangered dolphins with less than 50 left. Hector's Dolphins are also endangered and their numbers are dropping fast.
The world’s smallest dolphins are teetering on the brink of extinction.
Your donation will help to:
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Draw attention to the issues facing the Māui and Hector's Dolphins
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Empower communities with the solutions that are needed
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Educate people on what they can do to make a difference.
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Advocate for much needed policy change to protect the Māui and Hector's dolphins and their habitats
All donations receive a link to print this beautiful Māui dolphin artwork
With less than 50 left, the Māui dolphin a species found only in New Zealand, is ‘Critically Endangered’.
Numbers of Hector's Dolphins are also plummeting. There were an estimated 50,158 in 1975 and now only 10,000 to 15,000 Hector's dolphins remain.
The Māui dolphin is one of the world’s smallest and rarest dolphins. An endemic sub-species closely related to the Hector’s dolphin, it is now found only in the coastal waters off the west coast of the North Island.
Entanglement in fishing nets, bottom trawling mining activity, boat strike, pollution and disease, pose real risks to the species' survival.
Threats:
Entanglement in nets has been the largest cause of human related Māui dolphin deaths. Because Māui dolphins live off the coast, fishing is a significant threat to their survival. Māui dolphins generally feed on bottom-dwelling fish and free-swimming prey and are often seen foraging around fishing boats using trawl nets, hunting the fish that have been disturbed by the trawlers.
Boat strike also kills dolphins and especially young ones as they cannot swim fast enough to get away.
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Pollution such as plastic debris, litter, metal toxins, oil spills, pathogens and organochlorines are increasingly harming the Māui dolphin population.
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Brucella abortus is a pathogen caused by bacteria that can cause late pregnancy abortions. This was first identified in a Māui dolphin in 2006, and puts the already low population at risk.
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Toxoplasmosis is another parasitic disease that spreads through ingestion of infected meat or the ingestion of contaminated material. The main source of infection for dolphins is most likely through freshwater run-off from the land contaminated with cat faeces. Toxoplasmosis can cause death, behavioural changes, still births and reduced reproductive rates.
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Changing weather patterns may also put the Māui population at risk due to extreme weather events and changing food availablity.
Bottom Trawling Threatens Dolphin Survival
Bottom trawling drags heavy nets across the seafloor, destroying critical habitats and stirring up sediment that smothers life. Continued bottom trawling around our coasts puts these endangered dolphins at even greater risk of extinction by destroying their food sources and catching them in nets, so that they suffocate and drown.
Bottom Trawled Areas Around NZ
Map showing spatial variation in the level of bottom trawl seafloor contact across the New Zealand region. The level of contact is presented as the Swept Area Ratio (SAR), the total accumulated swept area (km2 per 1 km2 grid cell) of all recorded bottom trawls between 1990 and 2020, shown on a log scale. Source: NIWA
Hector's and Maui Habitats (2016)
Map showing distribution, protection measures and most recent estimates of the four main populations, West Coast North Island; and West, South and East coasts South Island (2016).
Bottom trawling ploughs up the seabed, releases climate killing carbon dioxide, destroys coral gardens, and it’s also wiping out Hector’s dolphins. Some Hector’s dolphin populations have only around 40 animals. No dolphin should be killed in a fishing net, and we need much more sustainable fishing practices if we are to stop their rapid decline. Once the most common dolphin species in New Zealand waters Hector's were described as "plentiful", "common", "ordinary" in historic accounts.
Māui dolphin numbers
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Estimated 500 individuals in 1970.
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Current estimates (2025): less than 50 individuals over one year of age.
Hector’s dolphin numbers
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Estimated 50,158 in 1975.
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Dropped to 14,849 (2010–2015 data) after initial low estimates (~7,270 from earlier, more restricted surveys).
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Now only 10,000 to 15,000 Hector’s dolphins remain.
How can you help?
We are fundraising to help support the highest-priority conservation efforts for the endangered Māui and Hector's dolphin. You can help get behind saving our endemic dolphins by offering financial support and helping to raise awareness around their plight.
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Report Māui dolphin sightings - 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) or report via this form
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Support calls for protected areas to be extended to 100m depth contour and out to 20 nautical miles where Māui and Hector's dolphins live.
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Support a ban on bottom trawling in Aotearoa and sign our petition
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Advocate to local and better environmental policies.
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Support our Awhi Awa project to learn more about Māui and Hector's Dolphins and how we can all improve waterways that run into their habitat.
