Date:  19 January 2025

Pod of whales stranded in Golden Bay, DOC and Project Jonah responding

Attribute to Andrew Lamason, DOC Acting Operations Manager Golden Bay

“We had a report come in yesterday afternoon of a pod of whales close to shore near Pakawau.  Our ranger who lives nearby was tracking them.

The pod of whales moved northward and stranded near Taupata Stream.

A large pod of whales had stranded and several were swimming nearby. They are pilot whales and are a range of ages and sizes.

Of those stranded, one passed away very quickly.

Our team and Project Jonah volunteers were out with the whales until dark last night. This includes several Project Jonah medics, their help is always greatly appreciated.

DOC Rangers and Project Jonah volunteers have been at the site from first light this morning. Gusty easterly winds are not making things easy.

We will be looking after the remaining whales until the tide turns around 2 pm. We will attempt to re-float them at high tide.”

Update 5 pm Sunday 19 January: Response to Golden Bay whale stranding continues

This follows a stranding of around thirty pilot whales near Pakawau in Golden Bay yesterday 18 January.

Attribute to Andrew Lamason, DOC Acting Operations Manager Golden Bay

“There are about sixty DOC staff, Project Jonah volunteers, and community volunteers with the pod of whales. They are currently floating, and we are attempting to keep them from re-stranding.

The whales don’t seem very enthusiastic about swimming to deeper water.

The conditions are terrible, there is a very strong south-east wind blowing onshore at the stranding sight. People are getting cold and exhausted. The whales are only in about a metre of water.

We will keep trying to keep them from re-stranding, in the hope they will stay in the water. If they re-strand, then we will care for them through to dark this evening. The whales seem to be getting a bit agitated and if they do re-strand, we will make an assessment of their well-being at first light tomorrow.

We are trying to manage the welfare of both whales and the people supporting them.

The winds are predicted to stay at this strength from the same direction for the next few days.”

Update 7.40 am Monday 20 January 

Image: Amanda Harvey | DOC

Attribute to Andrew Lamason, DOC Acting Operations Manager Golden Bay

"Rescuers were out there this morning at first light.

Unfortunately the whales have restranded very high on the beach. Sadly, there have been a couple of further deaths overnight.

The whales are near Pakawau Inlet and they are on rocks now, some are up amongst the driftwood.

The tides are reducing in height which makes re-floating even more challenging.

The winds are still blowing directly onshore but not as strong as yesterday.

We are doing a health and welfare assessment on the whales with support from Massey University experts. We will then make decisions about what the best next course of action is."

Update 11.40 am Monday 20 January

Attribute to Andrew Lamason, DOC Acting Operations Manager Golden Bay

"The original pod of around 30 whales is now at Tomatea Point. A new pod of 11 whales is now stranded at Taupata Point. So now we are dealing with two separate pods.

The new pod was noticed close to the low tide line and then subsequently stranded.

Because it was close to the low tide mark where they stranded, this new pod has largely been refloated but is being closely monitored. At least one individual from that group is high up the beach waiting for more water.  

The initial pod is still waiting for sufficient water and a single whale at Patons Rock is also waiting for more water.

Assessments are ongoing as the state of the whales and environmental conditions change through the day."

Update 5.20 pm Monday 20 January

Image: Shane Butland | DOC

Attribute to Andrew Lamason, DOC Acting Operations Manager Golden Bay

"The initial larger pod are currently swimming, however they are in shallow waters.

The smaller pod who first stranded today swam briefly. However, they have since re-stranded in roughly the same location near Taupata Point.

The solitary whale at Patons Rock has swum away.

It has been a huge effort from DOC staff from across the region, Project Jonah volunteers, Massey University experts, and community volunteers.

We will be out there caring for the whales until later this evening and will be back at first light to re-assess the situation."

Update 9.45 am Tuesday 21 January

Attribute to Andrew Lamason, DOC Acting Operations Manager Golden Bay

"This morning, the larger pod has re-floated which is good news. We hope they are happily swimming in deeper water.

The smaller pod has re-stranded in a similar location.

The team is working towards a re-float for the smaller pod towards the high tide this afternoon.

We would appreciate if the community could keep a look out and please contact 0800 DOC HOT with any sightings of dead or alive whales on the beach. This is so we can manage and respond accordingly."

Update 4 pm Tuesday 21 January

Attribute to Andrew Lamason, DOC Acting Operations Manager Golden Bay

"Of the last remaining stranded pod one further whale has died. The remaining ten whales have all been re-floated. They are being directed out into the main channel by rescuers.

There has still been no sign of the original larger pod, which we hope they are all doing well further offshore.

So currently there are no live whales on the beach, and although we are hopeful, we suspect that the current refloat may not be successful if it follows the pattern of the previous days.

We will continue to monitor the whales in the water and will respond accordingly if they re-strand.

We are hopeful the whales survive but we anticipate some deceased whales may turn up along the coast.

We are asking people to be respectful around these deceased whales and to avoid contact with them.

Dog walkers should be particularly cautious about exercising their dogs off leash as some pathogens in whales can be dangerous to dogs.

We’ve endeavoured to secure as many dead whales as possible and typically move them on to Farewell Spit, where we can easily manage them. However, we won’t be able to recover all dead whales due to remote locations and difficult access or when whales have subsequently passed away out at sea."

Update 8.20am Wednesday 22 January

Attribute to Andrew Lamason, DOC Acting Operations Manager Golden Bay

"Morena, 10 whales have re-stranded in roughly the same area as yesterday and rescuers are responding.

There will be a long period of keeping the whales comfortable until the tide returns around 4 pm today.

The weather conditions are bright and sunny with minimal wind. This is good for rescuers but harsh for the whales. Sheets and buckets will be used to keep the whales in as good a condition as possible.

We are mindful that these whales have now stranded through multiple days. Some of our whale experts are making health assessments on the pod to determine if euthanasia is the more humane option for some or all of these whales.

After a certain point, the likelihood of even refloated whales surviving diminishes significantly.  The challenge is determining where the health of these whales is, relative to that point."

Whale stranded in New Brighton, Christchurch has been re-floated

Attribute to Andy Thompson DOC Mahaanui Operations Manager

“We received a call around 4:30 pm yesterday of a dolphin stranded in New Brighton.

Local iwi Ngāi Tūāhuriri, DOC, and Project Jonah responded.

It is likely to be a young or juvenile Cuvier's beaked-whale or an even rarer Gingko whale. Both are deep water species.

At 5:40 pm Project Jonah staff had the whale secured and pointing out to sea. The whale swam out, so it was a successful re-float.

The whale was seen later in the evening, just out behind the breakers.

It is a young and vulnerable whale and we are very hopeful of a successful outcome but we are very mindful it is likely we will see it again somewhere else along the coast.

We would ask the public to report any sightings of the whale to 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).”

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