Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust

What Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust does

Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust is a Dunedin-based, New Zealand-registered charitable trust (CC22822) founded in 1987 to conserve the hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin), one of the world's rarest penguins and a species endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand. The Trust manages six coastal reserves across the Otago region totaling over 1,000 acres — Irahuka Long Point, Tavora, Okia, Otapahi, Omihi, and Otekiho — focused on habitat restoration, pest and predator control, and biodiversity research. Its core programmes are the Hoiho Recovery Programme (monitoring, rescue, and rehabilitation, including a dedicated Rakiura Rehabilitation Centre on Stewart Island), Ocean Advocacy (campaigning for marine protections such as set net closures), and From Seeds to Trees, a native plant nursery raising up to 50,000 eco-sourced plants annually with over 140,000 trees planted since 1987.

The Trust operates a community-led conservation model funded by individual donations, bequests, corporate sponsorships (including a flagship founding sponsorship from Mainland Brand since 1989, believed to be one of the southern hemisphere's longest-running cause-related partnerships), and project-based grants from bodies including the Lotteries Environment and Heritage Fund, Air New Zealand's Every Corner Fund, and local councils. It serves three primary constituencies: conservation supporters (individual donors and volunteers), local communities and visitors using public reserves, and government/conservation partners (Department of Conservation, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Forest & Bird, Wildlife Hospital Dunedin, and the Hoiho Governance Group that endorses the Te Kaweka Takohaka mō te Hoiho recovery strategy). Operational leadership is provided by a General Manager (Norcombe Barker), Co-Chairs Eiren Sweetman and Tim Mepham, a Nursery Supervisor, and three discipline-specific Biodiversity Rangers (Habitat, Flora, Fauna), supported by a board of trustees.

Revenue mechanics are donation-only with no disclosed pricing tiers or commercial product sales; the Trust is governed as a non-profit with no parent company. Recent strategic positioning has shifted from purely regional reserve management toward broader regulatory and judicial advocacy, including a December 2024 high court ruling (with Environmental Law Initiative) on systematic bycatch management failings and a September 2025 emergency set net closure around the Otago Peninsula. The Trust is not a technology company — its "platform" is fundamentally land, nursery capacity, and a specialized volunteer/staff network operating on a regional Otago and Stewart Island footprint.

Name

Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust

Legal name

Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust

Website

https://yellow-eyedpenguin.org.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust is a Dunedin-based New Zealand charitable trust (founded 1987) that conserves the hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin) by managing six coastal reserves across Otago totaling 1,000+ acres, running a native plant nursery, and operating rehabilitation and marine advocacy programmes supported by donations and a long-standing Mainland Brand sponsorship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wildlife Conservation Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

akta.pro primary industry

Marine & Freshwater Conservation (BPAGAGAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC), Wildlife, Biodiversity & Habitat Conservation Administration (BPAIAMAG)

Keywords

• Penguin conservation
• Wildlife rehabilitation
• Habitat restoration
• Native plant nursery
• Coastal reserve management

Headquarters

HQ city

Dunedin

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual donations from supporters who care about hoiho conservation and environmental health. The organization is supported by people who donate to protect this rare penguin species.
2. Bequests/Legacy Gifts: Leave a bequest in Will or Codicil to support long-term conservation efforts. Registration Number CC22822 for legal purposes.
3. Corporate Sponsorship: Partnership with Mainland Brand since 1989, believed to be one of the southern hemisphere's longest-running cause-related partnerships. Funded awareness campaigns, educational programs, and contributed to Okia Reserve purchase.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust is a not-for-profit conservation organization that restores coastal habitats, manages six coastal reserves totalling over 1,000 acres across the Otago region, runs a native plant nursery raising 50,000 eco-sourced plants annually for reforestation, operates a penguin rehabilitation centre on Rakiura Stewart Island, and conducts monitoring and advocacy campaigns for hoiho conservation and marine protection. Its primary outputs are habitat restoration services, wildlife rehabilitation services, and policy advocacy rather than commercial products.

Product overview

Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust operates as a not-for-profit conservation organisation offering four interconnected programmes. The Hoiho Recovery Programme provides front-line monitoring, rescue, and rehabilitation for one of the world's rarest penguins. Ocean Advocacy campaigns for marine protection to end harmful fishing practices. From Seeds to Trees is a native plant nursery raising eco-sourced native plants for coastal reforestation. Building Biodiversity encompasses the management of six coastal reserves totalling over 1,000 acres across the Otago coastline, focused on pest control, habitat restoration, and biodiversity protection.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 140,000+ trees raised and planted since 1987
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Nature Heritage Fund (Minister of Conservation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Equal partner in purchasing Irahuka Long Point Reserve in 2009. Together they protect a 12km stretch of coastline.
• Mainland BrandflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1989Founding sponsor since 1989, believed to be one of the southern hemisphere's longest-running cause-related partnerships. Funded awareness campaigns, educational programs, iconic TV commercials featuring Roy Wesney, and helped purchase Okia Reserve. Partnership includes popular cheese label redemption scheme (1990-2017).
• Dunedin City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJointly purchased Okia Reserve with Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust in 1991. Also owns Otekiho reserve, protected under Reserves Act 1977 and managed by the Trust.
• Mamaku Point TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting the Rakiura Rehabilitation Centre on Stewart Island for underweight hoiho during moult period.
• Forest & Bird South Otago BranchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides regular predator control programme at Irahuka Long Point Reserve. Also partners on rabbit-proof fencing installation.
• Forest & Bird Dunedin BranchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMonitors remnant titi population at Long Point as part of 'Bring Back the Seabirds' Project.
• Department of Conservation (DOC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey government partner. DOC Helpline for injured penguins: 0800 362 468. Partner in Hoiho Governance Group and Hoiho Recovery Strategy (Te Kaweka Takohaka mō te Hoiho). Comprehensive searches for rehabilitation carried out with DOC.
• Wildlife Hospital Dunedin (WHD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVeterinary care partner for hoiho chicks. Refined system of intervention to mitigate respiratory disease syndrome.
• Waitaki District CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided funding for installation of six new AT220 traps at Tavora Reserve to target possums.
• Air New Zealand Every Corner FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding partner for planting 10,000 harakeke at Irahuka Long Point reserve.
• Lotteries Environment and Heritage FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding partner for planting project at Irahuka Long Point.
• Te Tapu o TānecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMana whenua led business partner for planting project at Irahuka Long Point.
• TREETminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal young entrepreneurs partner for planting project at Irahuka Long Point.
• Monarch Wildlife CruisesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUndertakes plantings at Otekiho reserve to offset carbon footprint.
• Hoiho Governance GroupflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerEndorses hoiho recovery project. Members include Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Department of Conservation, Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust, and Fisheries New Zealand. Governs hoiho recovery strategy, Te Kaweka Takohaka mō te Hoiho.
• New Zealand National Commission for UNESCOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGenerously supported participation at 2025 UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France.
• Environmental Law Initiative (ELI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating on legal action for hoiho protection. ELI brought high court case in December 2024 finding systematic failings in protected species bycatch management.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Rakiura Maori Land Trust / Rakiura Titi Islands Administering Body: Rakiura Stewart Island-based organizations managing conservation and customary harvesting on Whenua Hou (Codfish Island). Direct operational overlap with YEPT's Rakiura Rehabilitation Centre for underweight hoiho on the same islands.

Direct peers

• QEII National Trust (Queen Elizabeth II National Trust): New Zealand land trust organization that protects open space and indigenous biodiversity through covenants with landowners. Shares YEPT's reserve management mission and receives funding from similar Lottery, council, and government grant sources.
• Environmental Defence Society (EDS): New Zealand environmental NGO using litigation and advocacy to protect indigenous biodiversity and marine environments. Shares YEPT's ocean advocacy goals and operates in overlapping donor and volunteer networks in New Zealand.
• Forest & Bird (Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand): New Zealand's largest independent conservation NGO, sharing YEPT's mission to protect native species and habitats. Forest & Bird partners with YEPT on predator control at Irahuka Long Point and seabird monitoring, operating in overlapping geographic regions and donor pools.
• Predator Free 2050 Trust: New Zealand initiative focused on eliminating invasive predators that threaten native species including hoiho. Shares YEPT's habitat protection mission, relies on similar corporate and government funding sources, and partners on predator control at reserves like Irahuka Long Point.
• Oiled Wildlife Care Network (NZ) / Wildbase Recovery: Massey University-based wildlife rehabilitation facility comparable to YEPT's Rakiura Rehabilitation Centre. Shares wildlife veterinary care expertise and serves as a regional counterpart for native species recovery and rehabilitation.

Broad incumbents

• World Wildlife Fund New Zealand: Global conservation NGO's New Zealand chapter, addressing species protection, marine reserves, and habitat restoration. WWF-NZ competes for corporate sponsorships, government grants, and individual donor dollars in the same conservation funding pool as YEPT.
• The Nature Conservancy (New Zealand): Global conservation organization operating in New Zealand with focus on land trusts and marine protection. Comparable operating model — managing reserves, restoring habitats, and running native plant nurseries for reforestation at scale.
• BirdLife International: Global partnership of bird conservation organizations focused on threatened species and their habitats. Directly comparable to YEPT's hoiho recovery mission through BirdLife's species-focused conservation programmes and IUCN Red List-driven priorities.
• Department of Conservation (DOC) Te Papa Atawhai: New Zealand's central government conservation agency and YEPT's key strategic partner in the Hoiho Governance Group. DOC shares responsibility for hoiho recovery, manages the broader conservation estate, and co-funds YEPT reserve management — a natural public-sector counterpart.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/yeptrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yelloweyedpenguintrust

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust