The number of hector's dolphins dying increased by two thirds in 2007. The New Zealand Department of Conservation figures show 25 hector's dolphins, which are an endangered species, were found dead in 2007, up from 15 in 2006.

It was difficult to determine how the dolphins died because of decomposition, but one was confirmed to have been killed by becoming entangled in a set net. The Government had intended to implement a plan outlining protection measures for the dolphins by the end of 2006. This was delayed and the interim measures put in place while the plan was being developed have done little to prevent dolphin deaths. The hector's dolphin is the world's rarest dolphin with only 7000 remaining, down from about 26,000 in the 1970s, when set nets began to be widely used.

As in other parts of the world, such as the UK and across Europe set nets continue to take cetacean species as bycatch. Appropriate and effective mitigation measures are urgently required to prevent further needless deaths in these fisheries.