December 06, 2022

An update on our work to protect the Maui dolphin

Māui dolphins are one of the rarest and smallest dolphins in the world. They are found only on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island.

On November 28th, 2022, in our case on behalf of Sea Shepherd New Zealand and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the Court of International Trade granted our motion for a preliminary injunction to ban the import of certain fish from fisheries that overlap with the range of the Maui dolphin, a critically endangered dolphin found only in the waters around New Zealand’s North Island. Most recent estimates place the number of dolphins over the age of one at between 48 and 64 individuals, and this preliminary ban is a critical step towards protecting the species from bycatch in gillnet and trawl fisheries. Click here to read Sea Shepherd’s press release about the victory. Many thanks to the numerous Earthrise students who helped make this victory possible!