Two whales have died following a mass stranding involving nearly 40 long-finned pilot whales in Golden Bay this afternoon.
Thirty-seven whales stranded on Farewell Spit at around 1pm, the Department of Conservation (DOC)’s operations manager Ross Trotter said in a statement.
Two of the whales have since died.
“DOC is working with Project Jonah and volunteers on site to keep the whales wet and as comfortable as possible until a refloating can be attempted,” Trotter said.
“The plan is to try to refloat the whales either on the incoming tide tonight before it gets dark or at high tide tomorrow at about midday.”
Trotter said a team is assessing whether an attempt to refloat the whales can be carried out before dark, “high tide isn’t until 11.30pm so this may not be possible”.
“Once it’s dark, the team will stand down, as it’s unsafe to continue to work,” he said.
“A team will return to the site at dawn.”
The spit is a location where pilot whales typically strand, the general manager of marine mammal rescue charity Project Jonah, Daren Grover, earlier told 1News.
Thirty-five people — including volunteers, Project Jonah, and DOC — are currently providing assistance on the beach.
Trotter said they currently “have enough support onsite, and no extra volunteers are needed at this stage”.
“We appreciate the support of the volunteers who are assisting.”
It comes after 40 pilot whales stranded on Ruakākā Beach in Northland last week. Four of the whales died.
