William Trubridge
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TruBlue Foundation

ocean conservation, one breath at a time

Hector’s dolphin

Maui and Hector's Dolphins

Hector's Dolphins, and their subspecies the Maui Dolphins, are the world's smallest cetacean, and the most endangered dolphin species.

  • found only in NZ coastal waters, in water shallower than 100m
  • less than 7,000 Hector's Dolphins remain
  • only 50–60 adult Maui Dolphins remain
  • irresponsible fishing methods have bought numbers to these levels: the dolphins easily entangle in nets that are invisible to their sonar.
  • their only salvation lies in the reform of fishing legislation to ban any kind of set net and trawl fishing wherever the dolphins are found, in waters up to 100m deep

In 2010 William set a no fins freediving world record of 100 meters (one hectometer) as part of Project Hector, an attempt to raise awareness of the plight of this species and compel government to make the right decision for their preservation.

The battle continues, as government is currently considering the latest round of submissions from the public. You can help by visiting the Hectors and Maui's Dolphins website and adding your voice to the campaign to increase their protection.

More Information

Plastic Oceans

Plastic is forever
All rivers run to the sea

These two facts, combined with the huge increase in plastic products that are used daily (over a million tonnes per day produced worldwide) has caused our oceans to become inundated with plastic, floating on the surface or coating the reef and seafloor.
America alone throws away 50 billion plastic water bottles per year.

Once plastic waste enters the ocean it is moved by global currents that distribute it around the world. Plastic is broken into ever smaller particles by wave action, but never completely disintegrates, meaning the ocean turns into a kind of plastic soup of particles of varying sizes. These enter the marine food chain (and hence our food sources), and kill huge amounts of sea life, such as turtles, who mistake plastic bags for their normal jellyfish prey, or sea birds who die far from civilization with collections of plastic in their bellies.
Huge ‘plastic gyres,’ larger than any American state, are forming where currents have a whirling effect in the middle of oceans.

For more information and solutions that William supports, please visit:

Plastic in the ocean
In 2019 William became the first person to complete an underwater crossing of the Cook Strait, NZ, bringing awareness to the plight of the Hectors dolphins that inhabit these waters.
Like the Philippines, Indonesia, and other archipelagos, The Bahamas accumulates a lot of ocean-borne plastic on its shores. But this is the tip of the iceberg, as the majority remains adrift on the seas, polluting and killing oceanlife.
Plastic pollution in Bali, like most of the southeast asian island nations, is critical. Here's how you can help.
This appeal for NZ's Hector's and Maui's dolphins was filmed in 2012. Since then the government has changed, and there has been some progress, but the species are by no means safe from extinction

Benefactors

  • Chris Maxey & Island School
  • Stephan Whelan & DeeperBlue.net
  • Kane Grundy
  • Victor Qundos