Māui & Hector's
Dolphins

One of the world's rarest dolphin, Māui dolphins or Popoto, live right here in Aotearoa, along the west coast of our North Island.
With only ~50 remaining, these special dolphins are on the brink of extinction and already battling multiple threats, including fishing nets, disease, pollution and warming waters effecting their prey. The impacts of seabed mining in their habitat is the last thing they need!
 

Found nowhere else on Earth, Māui dolphins/Popoto are a taonga unique to Aotearoa. They're easily identified by their distinctive rounded dorsal fin - like a mickey mouse ear - and their small size, reaching less than 1.7 metres in length. 

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Living in small groups close to shore, they use echolocation to navigate and find food. Scientists believe these dolphins were once found all around Aotearoa. Now, their habitat has shrunk dramatically, and seabed mining threatens what remains. Making matters worse, Māui dolphins are incredibly vulnerable. Females don't have their first calf until they're 7-9 years old, and then only have one calf every 2-4 years. This slow reproduction rate makes their population especially fragile - they simply can't bounce back quickly from threats to their survival.

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Recently, their cousins - Hector's dolphins - have been spotted in Taranaki waters too. While these small dolphins look very similar to Māui dolphins, they've lived separately so long (Māui in the North Island, Hector's mostly in the South Island) that they're genetically distinct and considered different subspecies. While not quite as rare as Māui dolphins, Hector's dolphins are still endangered and need protection. Having both of these precious species in these waters makes keeping them safe from seabed mining even more crucial.​