Hector's and Maui's campaign

Saving the species is about tackling the problem from every angle. That means our dolphin campaign is multi-faceted. We work with communities and schools, researchers and government. And we’re beginning to work with fishers.

Working with communities and schools

Because Maui’s and Hector’s dolphins are such an engaging topic for students, WWF-New Zealand offers curriculum-linked resources for teachers and their students. The aim is to support schools as they engage with their communities to address issues surrounding Maui’s and Hector’s dolphins in their local area. 

Find out about how we support schools.

Working with young New Zealanders

The short film, Take Action for Maui’s, by students of Te Huruhi Primary School and WWF-New Zealand shows how inspired children are by the idea of conservation.
You too can get involved in WWF-New Zealand’s campaign to save Maui’s dolphin in several ways:

Become informed:

• Check out our Hector’s and Maui’s factsheets

Take action:

• Visit WWF's Stop their Extinction campaign site and send an e-card to the Ministers of Fisheries and Conservation asking them for full protection for Maui’s dolphins.
• Support our work: donate money or Adopt a dolphin
• Find out more about WWF-New Zealand’s dolphin education programme. 

Supporting research

After more than 20 years of research, we know much more about Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins than most other dolphin species.  As at March 2008, for Hector’s and Maui’s, there were:

• 77 peer reviewed published papers in scientific journals
• 13 Masters theses
• 9 Doctorate theses
• 43 departmental reports
• 8 unpublished papers
• 7 sections in books

However, there are still many things unknown about Maui’s – for example, population numbers and where they live during winter months. This information is vital to assess whether protection measures are sufficient, and to determine if the population is indeed recovering. Research will help us to answer these questions and is crucial to helping discover how best to protect the Maui’s dolphin.

WWF-New Zealand has supported a range of research, including:

• Population surveys of Akaroa dolphin populations
• Auckland University research using genetics to obtain an estimate of population size and alongshore distribution
• Studies on distribution of Maui’s dolphins to determine how far offshore they go, and to assess the overlap between dolphin habitat and current trawl fishing grounds
• A public sightings network to gather information to help us learn more about the distribution and behaviour of Maui’s dolphins - where they go, how far offshore they move, to what extent they use west coast harbours and how far north and south they move. Data generated by public reported sightings is a very important tool to help answer those questions. And we encourage the Government to consider sightings information and research findings when making decisions
• Financial support for a range of community-initiated events and actions, including the Raglan Dolphin Day.

Working with government

WWF lobbies the Ministers of Fisheries and Conservation to manage Maui’s dolphin so their survival is ensured for future generations. Actions that WWF-New Zealand is asking the government to take include:

• regulating fishing to achieve zero by-catch of Maui’s and Hector’s dolphins
• implementing a Hector’s dolphin recovery plan that addresses threats beyond fishing
• investing in research that will contribute to improved management of the species

Help the dolphins’ survival

You can help ensure the dolphins’ survival by visiting WWF-New Zealand’s Stop their Extinction campaign web site. Send an e-card to the Government, asking Ministers to give total protection to Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins.
Report any sightings of Maui’s dolphins. The more we learn about where these dolphins live, the better we will be able to protect them.
Adopt a dolphin and support our work to protect dolphins.