Minister urged to intervene over 146 marine mammal sanctuary deaths in just two years

New data obtained by the Environmental Law Initiative shows 146 marine mammals, including numerous Hector’s dolphins, Dusky dolphins, and seals, have been killed inside Aotearoa New Zealand’s marine mammal sanctuaries over the past two fishing years.

“Every marine mammal is protected under the Marine Mammals Protection Act, and marine mammal sanctuaries are a key tool in the Act to achieve their protection,” said ELI’s Senior Legal Researcher Megan Cornforth-Camden.

“Many people assume that marine mammals would be safe in marine mammal sanctuaries, yet devastatingly, that is not the case.”

The deaths have been attributed by the Ministry of Primary Industries to commercial set‑netting and trawling.

“We started to investigate marine mammal sanctuaries following our successful legal action against the Department of Conservation, which found the Department has failed to use the powers it has to protect marine wildlife from harm.

“We certainly didn’t expect to uncover the sheer scale of marine mammal deaths in sanctuaries.”

“If there is any hope to draw from this situation, it is that the Minister of Conservation, Tama Potaka, has considerable legal authority to take action,” says Cornforth-Camden.

The Marine Mammals Protection Act gives the Minister of Conservation powers to regulate harmful activities inside sanctuaries.

“These deaths are preventable. Allowing ongoing fishing that kills protected dolphins and seals is inconsistent with the purpose of the law, let alone the very basic notion that these areas are a sanctuary,” says Cornforth-Camden.

The figures show that 79 marine mammals were killed inside marine mammal sanctuaries during the 2023/24 fishing year, following earlier data revealing 67 deaths in the 2024/25 fishing year.

In response to the findings, WWF New Zealand, Māui and Hector’s Dolphin Defenders, and the Endangered Species Foundation have joined the call for urgent action, launching a public letter writing campaign urging the Minister and MPs to strengthen protections across the marine mammal sanctuary network.