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Significant victory for WDC in fight to save world’s smallest dolphins

Significant victory for WDC in fight to save world’s smallest dolphins

A significant victory in the fight to save dolphins in New Zealand from extinction has been achieved after stricter fishing and environmental protections for the critically endangered Māui and endangered Hector’s dolphins have been sanctioned by the government. The move comes after a long campaign by WDC and gives the Māui and Hector’s a fighting chance…

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NZ government options for dolphins will be a CATastrophe

The New Zealand government is attempting to use a parasite spread by cats as an excuse to deflect from its failure to protect two of the most threatened native dolphin species in the country. Māui and Hector’s dolphins have declined dramatically due to net fishing over the last 50 years. There are fewer than 60…

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Whaling commission voices grave concern over Maui’s dolphin future

Scientists from the International Whaling Commission have voiced their “grave concern” for the endangered Maui’s dolphin, a sub-species of the New Zealand dolphin. Estimates for the number of remaing dolphins range from 43 to 69 with one researcher, Dr. Liz Slooten, predicting there could be just a few individuals left within a couple of decades.…

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New Zealanders Want to Pay More Tax

A report published this week shows a large majority of New Zealanders are prepared to pay a ‘Dolphin Tax’ to stop New Zealand dolphins dying in fishing nets. The report was commissioned by Whale and Dolphin Conservation. It was presented in summary form to the Biennial meeting of the Marine Mammal Society which was held…

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How not to save a species!

Less than a week after the International Whaling Commission (IWC) urged the Government of New Zealand to do more to save the critically endangered Maui’s dolphin there has been a dramatic turn of events.  Instead of establishing more protective measures to save this endemic species, the NZ Government have in fact opened up a potential…

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WDC raises plight of New Zealand dolphin at scientific meeting

WDC has a small but hardworking team at the Biennial meeting of the Marine Mammal Society taking place this week at the University of Otago, in Dunedin, NZ. At the meeting are Erich Hoyt from the UK, Philippa Brakes from NZ and Mike Bossley based in Australia, all of whom have been involved in presenting…

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