Extinction threat for the hoiho, one of the world's rarest penguins

The threat to one of the world’s rarest penguins, the northern hoiho, is reaching a critical point.

Advocates for the northern hoiho, or the yellow-eyed penguin, are calling for the reclassification of the endangered bird as it heads into a critical breeding season during the arrival of a potentially deadly bird flu.

Watch the full report from Marae on TVNZ+

Hoani Langsbury (Ngāi Tahu), a trustee of the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust, told Marae most people probably don’t realise how dire it is for the native taonga species.

“I'm thinking about which minister is going to be the minister of extinction – so it's at that stage that we're at with this species.”

Northern hoiho are found on the south-east coasts of Te Waipounamu in the deep south, including Stewart Island-Rakiura. It’s believed the species will become functionally extinct, no longer able to reproduce to sustain the population, within the next decade.

Langsbury has been part of the trust since 2012. He said at that time there were just under 500 breeding pairs in the mainland population. The numbers have since collapsed.

“The number breeding last year in the mainland population was 115 pairs, so you kind of look at that, that's about an 80% reduction in the population in that time.”

Langsbury said much of the demise of the species can be attributed to human activity.

“So changes in land use affecting their breeding areas, bi-catch from fisheries industry – there doesn't appear to be enough fish left out there, partly because of climate change and the class of fish changing. And the other would be disease.”

In 2022, nine eggs were taken from the wild and incubated in captivity to allow for survival due to avian diptheria. Eight hoiho chicks hatched from the nine at the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital in a world first.

Conservation efforts are taking place at Ōkia, north-east of Dunedin, a known breeding site for hoiho.

The trust’s biodiversity ranger Ariel Daubney said they had recently planted 80 native plants to help bolster the restoration of the nesting area.

“Them being bush-dwelling penguins, they can walk up to about two kilometres inland and they nest in dense shrub and vegetation, so one of the issues being that there's just not enough of that nesting and living habitat for them.”

Hoiho are one of three species of penguins that breed on the mainland of New Zealand, and they often return to the site where they hatched to reproduce. Pairs can raise two chicks in a good breeding season, but that’s only if they make it onshore in the first place.

A key concern to their health has been the impact of the fishing industry.

“In the last few years we've had several hoiho caught in set nets and one of those was a breeding female from Sandfly Bay,” said Langsbury.

“With that female disappearing from there that site is now functionally extinct – there's only males left there. We probably will never see breeding back at that site.”

Last year, Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones placed an initial three-month emergency closure on commercial set-net fishing to about eight nautical miles around the Otago Peninsula – the area with the highest risk of hoiho bycatch. The closure was then extended to September 16.

A proposed protection measure included making the emergency closure long-term and setting a fishing-related mortality limit. He initiated consultation to take place on this and other proposals.

1News reached out to the minister for an update. A statement from his office said he was considering advice following consultation and will make a decision in due course.

Daubney said they have been seeing a decline in many other nesting sites.

“Unfortunately this year we didn't have any nests at Ōkia even though in the past it's been a pretty prominent nesting site.

“Over our sites along the peninsula we only had one nest this year.”

The hoiho, a taonga species, holds significant cultural value to Māori. The iconic bird also features on the $5 note and was named Bird of the Year in 2024.

The northern hoiho is one of 49 bird species that features in the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998, acknowledging its special relationship to the iwi.

Tumai Cassidy, cultural advisor and senior ranger for Te Rūnanga o Otakou, recalls some of the stories from his kaumātua about the hoiho.

“Taua manu he kaitohu i te ora o te moana, he kaitohu i te ora o ngā ngahere tata ana ki te takutai. Kua tino kitea mātou kei te heke haere te oranga o tērā o ngā manu o te hoiho, me te pōuri hoki o te ngākau ki te ngaro tērā manu, ā, ka patua mātou e te whakamā.

(“The bird is an indicator of the ocean's health, an indicator of the wellbeing of the coastal bush areas. We have clearly seen the decline of the hoiho, a sad state of affairs should it become extinct – we would be struck by shame.)

“Me nui ake te puna pūtea e tukuna nei ki ngā kaupapa e manaaki e whakarauora i tēnei o ngā manu.”

(“More funding is needed to help regenerate and rehabilitate this particular species.”)

As part of a Master’s degree, photographer Astrid Erasmuson has documented the plight of the hoiho and is exhibiting her work at the Otago Museum, titled Before the Silence.

“It's been a really difficult project in some ways because there's processing this kind of level of grief and processing the idea that these really incredible birds, like, in my lifetime won't be there. It's just kind of horrifying, really.”

As well as images of hoiho, the exhibition includes photos of sites where hoiho have been found, and where they have disappeared from.

“We shouldn't quietly let them vanish,” she said.

“We should be upset about this and we've got a government that seem quite happy to let precious taonga species disappear and we should be upset about that, and we should let them know that we are upset about that.”

Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said he rejects the suggestion that the government is prepared to allow hoiho to “disappear”.

“The challenges facing the species have developed over many years and there is no single or immediate solution, but extinction is not inevitable. As Conservation Minister, my focus is on practical, science-based action that gives hoiho the best possible chance of recovery.”

But Langsbury fears that time has run out.

“The real issue is we're not protecting our indigenous species. I get really whakamā (ashamed), or angry or upset – I don't really know what you want to call it – but frustrated is probably [close]. But it's too late. We needed to have started this work at least ten, but probably more likely 20 years ago.”

Potaka said the decline of hoiho is “deeply concerning” and the government is committed to its protection.

“Hoiho face a range of pressures, including predators, disease, habitat loss, food availability, fisheries interactions and human disturbance. DOC is continuing to work alongside mana whenua, scientists, the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust and other conservation partners to strengthen monitoring, protect nesting areas and improve the effectiveness of the recovery programme."

Five new marine reserves along the Otago and South Canterbury coast officially opened this month. They cover over 300 square kilometres of the coastal marine area and all fishing, harvesting, and mineral extraction are prohibited.

“The expansion of marine protection along the Southland coast is an important part of that wider response. These protections will help reduce human pressure in key habitats and support healthier marine ecosystems, which hoiho rely on for food," said Potaka.

Figures released by Stats NZ in 2023 show more than 75% of indigenous wildlife are threatened with extinction or are at risk of becoming threatened. The northern hoiho is a nationally endangered species but there are calls to reclassify it as nationally critical.

Potaka said the latest assessment of the species’ threat classification is underway.

“That process is led by DOC experts and must be based on the best available population data. Whatever the final classification, it is clear that hoiho are in serious trouble and require urgent, sustained action.”