World’s smallest dolphin to be extinct ‘imminently’ as fishing nets reduce species to just 55 survivors
by Tamara Cohen
The world’s smallest and rarest dolphins are facing ‘imminent’ extinction with just 55 individuals left, conservationists have warned.
Maui’s dolphins – which are classified as critically endangered - have seen their numbers halve in the last seven years alone, as dozens have been caught in fishing nets. Only found on the west coast of New Zealand, there may be as little as 20 breeding females left, a new study has found.
Although part of the coast is protected from fishing, along most of it, trawling and vast fixed nets held in place by anchors have been blamed for killing the striking animals. The last corpse of a Maui dolphin – which grow to just 1.7 m long - was found last month.
Maui’s have a lifespan of around 20 years but only reach sexual maturity after around seven, and breed infrequently – around one calf every three years.
A new study carried out by University of Auckland, Oregon State University and the New Zealand Department of Conservation - using DNA samples - found the number of dolphins aged more than a year had plummeted from 111 when the last survey was carried out in 2004…
(read more: Daily Mail UK)
