Online exclusive
Maria Gill first wrote about the Māui dolphin after hearing that their population had dropped from 111 to only 55 dolphins. It was a picture book with the message: every Māui dolphin matters. Ten years later, she has a nonfiction picture book called New Zealand’s Endangered Dolphins for children with the same message. The multi-award-winning author of 62 books for children and teachers shares three things readers – young and old – will learn from her book as well as something she discovered.
Has anything changed for these dolphins?
Europeans originally called the North Island dolphin Māui and the South Island species Hector’s dolphin. Scientists now prefer to name animals from where they come from or reflect what they look like. Hence the name changes to North Island and South Island New Zealand dolphins.
These dolphins are unique to our country. The North Island NZ dolphin is a sub-species of the South Island NZ dolphin. They have gained global attention because the South Island dolphin is officially the world’s smallest dolphin, while the North Island dolphin is the world’s most endangered.
For the last 40 years, conservationists and marine scientists have been hard at work establishing sanctuaries and raising public awareness about these dolphins. But several major threats are still there.
Threats to New Zealand dolphins:
Commercial fishing is the biggest threat to the South Island dolphin - with an estimated population of 15,000 in many smaller sub-populations around the South Island. The North Island dolphin population has fallen to around 48.
Professional fishers trawl and set nets, frequently catching dolphins and other marine mammals. This is the main cause of dolphin deaths. Recreational fishers often leave their set nets unattended for long periods of time and they unintentionally catch a lot of marine animals, too. New Zealand dolphin populations are too small to even lose one let alone 10 or more a year, which is what now happens. We are now up to 11, killed by the fishing industry alone, since September 2023.
Boat strike is also a risk. Small, fast boats can hit dolphins, while large ships enter Lyttelton and Akaroa harbours, creating noise and wave action. It causes disruption to their habitat, making it difficult to find food.
Scientists also worry that noisy offshore mining machines on the west coast of the North Island can affect the North Island dolphin’s ability to use their echolocation effectively. This skill enables them to find fish, escape predators such as sharks and orca, and avoid boats in murky and dark waters. Unfortunately, the new coalition government looks as if it will allow more deep-sea mining.
Why a message in a children’s book?
Kids will read the child-friendly language in New Zealand’s Endangered Dolphins and see how special our native dolphins are – they’re as unique as the kiwi to our country. The stunning realistic artwork by Marco Ivancic really captures the beauty of the world’s smallest and most endangered dolphins in the world. Children will recognise that conservationists and marine scientists need their help, as well as their parents’ and community’s help.
Kids aren’t afraid to challenge adults on the big issues. So, listen to your kids when they say: “We should have zero tolerance for marine animal by-catch. We need to say no to deep-sea mining in New Zealand dolphin regions. Tourist ships should not enter New Zealand dolphin habitats and we can’t leave our nets and broken fishing gear in the water.” NZ’s most endangered dolphins depend on all of us hearing these messages.
What I learned along the way:
The NZ dolphin likes to play tag and pass the parcel, but it’s a piece of seaweed they pass on to each other. They prefer to swim in small groups, compared with dusky dolphins who swim in groups of up to 1000. The North Island dolphin is rather partial to mullet while the South Island dolphin eats a range of small fish.
New Zealand’s Endangered Dolphins, written by Maria Gill, illustrated by Marco Ivancic (White Cloud Books, $27.99) is out now.
