Hector's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori)

Species information

Videos and images

Threats

This species was once hunted for bait, but this has now stopped (6). Due to the coastal habitat of Hector's dolphin, the species is vulnerable to a large number of different threats such as chemical pollution, vessel traffic and habitat modification (1). Currently the most important threat to the survival of this species is bycatch by the fishing industry, particularly entanglements in gillnets that is now reported to occur throughout the range (1).

Conservation

The New Zealand Marine Mammals Protection Act has made the deliberate killing or injury of marine mammals illegal (1). Under this act, the New Zealand Department of Conservation has designated an area of 1,170 square kilometres as a Marine Mammal Sanctuary (6), which will provide protection for the species. Bycatch, although not illegal, is possible to regulate (1), and it is clear that measures must be taken to eliminate this threat if this diminutive dolphin is to survive (4).