On Saturday 14 March 2026, in the presence of Te Arikinui Kuini Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō, over a thousand people gathered at Ookapu Marae in Kāwhia for the 129th Poukai and the formal reopening of three new whare. The occasion also highlighted an important kaupapa: the urgent need to protect the world’s most endangered marine dolphin, the Pōpoto | Māui dolphin.

Strong public opinion shows we cannot wait to take stronger action for freshwater protections. With freshwater widely seen as poorly managed, and motivation high to restore whitebait populations, the survey signals a clear opportunity for better protections, increased investment, and visible restoration outcomes.

The Endangered Species Foundation, alongside other leading New Zealand conservation organisations, has written to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon demanding the immediate withdrawal of a controversial proposal that would weaken protections for vulnerable deep-sea coral ecosystems in the South Pacific.