Pōpoto / Māui Dolphins are some of the world's smallest and most endangered dolphins with less than 50 left. They are critically endangered. Hector's Dolphins are also endangered and their numbers are dropping fast. We urgently need your help to turn things around.
Donate and Help Save Māui and Hector's
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
The world’s smallest dolphins are teetering on the brink of extinction.
With less than 50 left, the Māui dolphin a species found only in New Zealand, is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’. 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.
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.
Entanglement in fishing nets, mining activity, boat strike, pollution and disease, pose real risks to the species' survival.
Habitat of Māui and Hectors
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Māui dolphins are genetically distinct from Hector’s and are only found on the West Coast of Te Ika a Māui - the North Island - from Maunganui Bluff to Whanganui.
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Māui and Hector's can often be seen near near shores and harbour mouths.
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They live in coastal waters, usually from the surf zone to just beyond the 100m depth contour and out to 20 nautical miles.
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Hector's Dolphins live around the South Island and have also been seen around coastal areas in the North Island.
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.
Help shine a spotlight on the threats these small dolphins face and bring about much needed change.
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
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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.
