Another serious threat is the disease toxoplasmosis, spread through cat faeces and washed into the ocean.
MĀUI63 believes that by identifying and locating individual dolphins, decisions can be made to protect them.
Co-founder Dr Rochelle Constantine, who has been studying marine mammals for 25 years, says the dolphins are “our most urgent conservation problem”.
UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND
MÄui are the world's rarest and smallest dolphin.
“We currently don’t have a robust understanding about Māui dolphin distribution, particularly during winter months and at different times of the day and night,” she said.
“Of critical importance for conservation, we don’t know how often dolphins use some areas that fishers are operating in, which is where there could be remaining risk of entanglement.”