TitleConservation status of New Zealand marine mammals (suborders Cetacea and Pinnipedia), 2009
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2010
AuthorsC. Baker, S, Chilvers, BL, Constantine, R, DuFresne, S, Mattlin, RH, van Helden, A, Hitchmough, R
JournalNew Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research
Volume44
Issue2
Pagination101 - 115
Date Published6/2010
AbstractThe conservation status of New Zealand (NZ) marine mammals (suborders Cetacea and Pinnipedia) is reappraised using the 2008 version of the NZ Threat Classification System. The list comprises 56 taxa (named species or subspecies, and as yet unnamed forms or types) in the following categories: Threatened—eight taxa (five Nationally Critical and three Nationally Endangered); Vagrant—six taxa; Migrant—20 taxa; and Data Deficient—13 taxa. A further nine taxa are listed as Not Threatened. Relative to the previous listing, the threat status of two species worsened: the NZ sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) was uplisted to Nationally Critical and the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) was uplisted to Nationally Endangered. No species was considered to have an improved status. With the uplisting of the NZ sea lion and the continued listing of the Hector's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori hectori) as Endangered and Maui's dolphin (C. hectori maui) as Nationally Critical, all three endemic NZ marine mammals are now considered threatened with extinction. We considered future research or management actions that would allow the downlisting of the eight taxa currently listed as Threatened.
DOI10.1080/00288330.2010.482970