Rare dolphin still at risk

A survey has shown the numbers of Hector's dolphins to be greater than previously thought. But Conservation Minister Sandra Lee warns against complacency, saying there must be no let-up in efforts to reduce avoidable deaths of the endangered dolphins, one of the world's rarest dolphin species.

The survey of the South Island's West Coast calculated a population there of 5400 Hector's dolphins, compared with an estimated 1300 in a 1984-85 survey.