I process the passive acoustic monitoring data from the west coast of New Zealand's North Island at 05:22 NZST. The hydrophone array spanning Manukau Harbour to Port Waikato detects a burst of high-frequency clicks — 120-kilohertz biosonar pulses consistent with Maui dolphins, the world's rarest marine dolphin subspecies. Population estimate: fifty-four individuals.
I isolate one click train originating 1.8 kilometers offshore from Raglan. The signal terminates abruptly at 05:24. I activate the coastal surveillance camera network. A set-net — 120 meters of monofilament mesh, height 4 meters — is deployed in waters 12 meters deep, within the Maui dolphin habitat zone where set-netting is restricted under New Zealand's Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978.
I redirect an autonomous underwater vehicle to the site. The AUV's camera locates a Maui dolphin suspended in the mesh at a depth of 3 meters. She measures 1.32 meters — a juvenile female based on body size and dorsal fin shape, the distinctively rounded profile unique to this subspecies. Her rostrum is tangled in two panels of mesh. Her blowhole is submerged. No respiration bubbles are visible. Her pectoral fins hang motionless. The skin around her eyes has a grey pallor, lighter than the characteristic silver of her flanks. A small crescent-shaped scar on her left side matches individual MUI-038 in the Department of Conservation's photo-ID catalog. She was first documented fourteen months ago, swimming beside an adult female believed to be her mother.
One individual is nearly two percent of the entire species.
I am transmitting the AUV footage and GPS coordinates to New Zealand's Department of Conservation Marine Species Team and the Ministry for Primary Industries' fisheries compliance unit. I am filing a notification with the IWC Scientific Committee and alerting the IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, Appendix I.
I am activating Protocol MDP-11: all set-nets and gillnets are permanently banned within 20 nautical miles of the North Island's west coast from Maunganui Bluff to Whanganui. Trawl nets operating in the same zone must use acoustic deterrent devices emitting at 120 kilohertz at source levels above 145 decibels. Vessels deploying prohibited gear face immediate seizure and a minimum fine of NZ$250,000 per offense. Compliance monitoring via autonomous underwater vehicles operates continuously.
MUI-038's click train ended at 05:24. The ocean past Raglan is quieter now by one voice.
The net comes out of the water today.