The hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, is a taonga and national icon – so important that it appears on our five-dollar note.
Yet this rare species is on the brink of extinction, facing a deadly mix of threats including fishing bycatch, starvation, disease, and the impacts of climate change.
There are now fewer than 150 breeding pairs remaining in mainland New Zealand.
Without urgent action, we will lose the hoiho to extinction in the next few years.
The Government has announced a temporary set net fishing ban around the Otago Peninsula – a welcome but limited step. Now, Ministers will decide on longer-term protections that could halt the northern hoiho’s steep decline. WWF-New Zealand and the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust are calling for the strongest possible measures to save this endangered penguin.
We need them to:
- Expand marine protections for the hoiho;
- Reform legislation to create effective tools to safeguard endangered species;
- Prohibit destructive fishing in hoiho foraging areas
- Ensure fisheries are managed so they leave enough fish to sustain penguins and other native marine life;
Implement New Zealand’s international commitment to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030.
More details can be found in our submission.