Say Goodbye - Studies Project Fewer Than 47 Maui's Dolphins Left; 10-12 Breeding Females

A New Zealand dolphin, one of whose two subspecies, the Maui's dolphin, is critically endangered with a quickly diminishing population. Photo credit: Steve Dawson/NABU International Foundation for Nature.

Maui's dolphins (Cephalorhynchus hectori maui) are edging closer to extinction. Strikingly marked, with a dark, rounded dorsal fin that has been likened to a Mickey Mouse ear, the dolphins max out at just four and a half feet long.

A pair of new papers highlight the dolphins' plight and present data showing their population has reached a new low, with fewer than 47 individuals remaining alive. The papers were presented at the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) Scientific Committee in San Diego, which ended earlier this week.

Maui's dolphins live only off the western coast of New Zealand's North Island, whose Maori name, Te Ika a Maui, inspired their own name. They and a closely related subspecies called Hector's dolphins (Cephalorhynchus hectori hectori), which live only in three small populations around the country's South Island, are together known as New Zealand dolphins.

Maui's dolphins have declined sharply since the 1970s, primarily as a result of accidental entanglement in fishing gear, which drowns or maims hundreds of thousands of cetaceans around the world each year. The Maui's dolphin population now stands at between 42 and 47 individuals, down from 59 in 2010/2011, according to a paper by Barbara Maas, Head of International Species Conservation at the German conservation group NABU International Foundation for Nature. There are currently just 10 to 12 mature females alive.


A Maui's dolphin encounters a fishing net. Fishing gear is responsible for more than 95 percent of Maui's dolphin deaths. Photo credit: Steve Dawson/NABU International Foundation for Nature.

EDIT

http://news.mongabay.com/2015/0605-kessler-mauis-dolphin-decline.html