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Vaquita. Photo Thomas Jefferson

Scientific Committee gives first ever official species extinction warning

Photo: Thomas Jefferson We have welcomed the urgent call by experts to protect the vaquita...
blue whale

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Humpback whale © Christopher Swann

Humpback whales breach in synchronisation

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Long-finned pilot whale

Unusual activity witnessed before pilot whale stranding

Just days after a pod of long-finned pilot whales stranded on an island in the...

IWC calls on NZ Government to take action to prevent extinction of Māui’s dolphin

The Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has said that urgent action is needed to prevent one of the world’s most endangered dolphins from becoming extinct.

The Māui’s dolphin is only found in New Zealand, a sub-species of the more numerous but still rare New Zealand dolphin. Found only in waters around the North Island, the population is estimated to be less than 50 individuals, with perhaps only a quarter of these breeding age female dolphins.

Entanglement in fishing nets is the main threat to the dolphins and the IWC’s latest report states that while the New Zealand Government has been carrying out research into the issue in recent years, it has not done enough to control fishing operations in the waters where the dolphins are found and reduce the threat.