Maui dolphins are the smallest and rarest marine dolphins on earth. They live only in New Zealand, where fishing has decimated them to near extinction because only a tiny fraction of their home is protected.
Just 45 Maui's dolphins survive. They are now so rare that they can sustain just one human caused fatality every 10-23 years. Fishing nets alone kill more than 54 times that each year. But the New Zealand government refuses to tread on the fishermen's toes, whose nets are picking off the dolphins one by one.
The science is unequivocal: full protection or extinction. Experts have called for a ban of these fishing methods across the dolphins' habitat for more than three decades. But the New Zealand government isn't listening and the fishing industry denies all responsibility. Now, there is new evidence that the amount of fish taken in New Zealand is almost three times greater than the numbers reported and that dolphin deaths in fishing nets have been covered up. This shows that New Zealand has no intention in saving Maui's dolphins.
Consumer power is the dolphins' last hope. McDonald's filet-o-fish contains fish from New Zealand and so supports an industry that fights for the right to keep killing the dolphins. Please join us and freedive world champion William Trubridge in calling on McDonald's to drop New Zealand fish from its menu and make a pledge not to buy McDonald's fillet-o-fish or any other fish from New Zealand until the dolphins are properly protected. This is a huge opportunity for McDonald's to do the right thing. Just imagine how good saving Maui's dolphins would be for their brand!
