DOLPHINS
If you are out on a boat or a surf board off the coast od New Zealand, you might just catch a glimpse of the undisputed star of our Hope Spot. The habitat of Hector’s and Māui dolphins makes up the area of our Hope Spot. The two subspecies occur only in New Zealand coastal waters up to a depth of 100 m: Hector’s around the South Island, Māui off the North Island. They are the smallest and rarest marine dolphin species on earth and have one of the most restricted distributions of any cetacean.
Both Hector’s and Māui dolphins have suffered devastating declines since the 1970s. Hector’s dolphin are down from 29,000 to an estimated 10,000 individuals. Only a small and declining population of some 50 Māui dolphins remains. Sadly, their decline is ongoing Fishing with gillnets and trawling pose the biggest threat to the survival of these diminutive dolphins. Currenly, 81 percent of Māui dolphin habitat remain unprotected from gillnetting and almost all of it - 95 percent - is open to trawling. Noise, marine mining, including for fossil fuels, and industrial as well as agricultural pollution also theraten their survival. Our Hope Spot is intended to change all this and make the dolphins' home safe, so they have a chance of recovery.
Maui and Hector’s dolphins share their home with many other dolphin species, including common, dusky, and bottlenose dolphins, as well as orcas and long-finned pilot whales. The latter two are in fact large dolphins rather than whales. An estimated 150-200 orcas live throughout the country’s coastal waters. Groups are formed around a mature female, her adult and her daughters’ offspring which stay together for life. This is true also for the Southern Hemisphere long finned pilot whale, which ranges throughout the Southern Ocean.
Both Hector’s and Māui dolphins have suffered devastating declines since the 1970s. Hector’s dolphin are down from 29,000 to an estimated 10,000 individuals. Only a small and declining population of some 50 Māui dolphins remains. Sadly, their decline is ongoing Fishing with gillnets and trawling pose the biggest threat to the survival of these diminutive dolphins. Currenly, 81 percent of Māui dolphin habitat remain unprotected from gillnetting and almost all of it - 95 percent - is open to trawling. Noise, marine mining, including for fossil fuels, and industrial as well as agricultural pollution also theraten their survival. Our Hope Spot is intended to change all this and make the dolphins' home safe, so they have a chance of recovery.
Maui and Hector’s dolphins share their home with many other dolphin species, including common, dusky, and bottlenose dolphins, as well as orcas and long-finned pilot whales. The latter two are in fact large dolphins rather than whales. An estimated 150-200 orcas live throughout the country’s coastal waters. Groups are formed around a mature female, her adult and her daughters’ offspring which stay together for life. This is true also for the Southern Hemisphere long finned pilot whale, which ranges throughout the Southern Ocean.
