The Only Team Researching New Zealand's Rarest Dolphins

Founded in 1992 by researchers Liz Slooten and Steve Dawson, the New Zealand Whale and Dolphin Trust runs population surveys, photo-identification and acoustic monitoring of the country's endemic Hector's and Māui dolphins, the world's smallest and rarest marine dolphins. Its long-running research on bycatch helped establish New Zealand's first marine mammal sanctuary at Banks Peninsula and continues to inform government protection measures, including its ongoing '100m Campaign' pushing for expanded net-free zones. The North Island's Māui dolphin subspecies has been reduced to an estimated 54 individuals, making the Trust's monitoring work central to any recovery.