Mass pilot whale stranding on West Coast

Thursday, 5 April 2018

All 38 pilot whales stranded on a remote West Coast river mouth have now died. 

It was initially believed 32 whales had washed up near Haast, in South Westland, but an aerial survey of the area revealed a further six whales on the beach.

Department of Conservation (DOC) spokeswoman Jose Watson said 38 whales had stranded in total – 33 on the south side of the Okuru River and five to the north.

Twelve were still alive on Thursday morning, but dangerous sea conditions meant an attempt to refloat them could not be made safely.

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DOC operations manager Wayne Costello said the decision to euthanise all of the remaining whales was made in consultation with local iwi Makaawhio, whale rescue charity Project Jonah, and other whale stranding experts.

'Unfortunately the sea on the West Coast is typically rough and the strong tidal currents in the adjoining lagoon made it impossible for rescuers to safely attempt to refloat the whales, allow them to regroup and to try to get them back to the open sea,' he said in a statement.

'DOC staff working with Makaawhio iwi members and local people considered options for a re-float of the whales but in the end this could not be done without considerable risk to both whales and people.'

Those with the whale 'did all they could' to help the whales.

'This is a sad outcome.'

Resident and local iwi member Helen Rasmussen said she had lived in the area for 42 years, but never encountered such a large stranding.

'That's one of the harsh realities of life I guess, the karakia has been said for them and what will be will be.'

The open location of the river mouth and dangerous sea conditions posed a huge risk for trying to refloat the whales, she said.

'It's a calculated risk and you shouldn't be putting people at risk.'

Project Jonah New Zealand posted a photo on Facebook and said only 11 whales were still alive when they were discovered.

'This is a very isolated location with limited access to communications,' the post said. 

General manager Daren Grover said the tough conditions could have played a part in the whale stranding.

'There are various factors why this pod came close to shore, we won't know specifically.

'When they come close to shore they can get caught out by tides, currents and fleeing from predators like orca,' he said. 

We're responding to a whale stranding south of Haast. 32 pilot whales were found – not all are alive. We're working with @ProjectJonah, iwi & locals on the ground to assess the situation. More to come. pic.twitter.com/NQlTyBqSIX

— Dept of Conservation (@docgovtnz) April 4, 2018