Northland iwi consent to dead sperm whale's stomach being tested
Saturday, 24 November 2018
A sperm whale that died after being stranded on a Northland beach will have its insides tested for plastic by the consent of local iwi.
The Department of Conservation (DOC) were notified of the stranding at Tokerau Beach in Doubtful Bay on Friday afternoon.
DOC senior ranger Irene Petrove said the 15 metre whale, which is thought to have beached about 3pm on Friday, died in the early hours of Saturday.
'It died peacefully at about 2.30am this morning,' Petrove said.
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DOC is working with local hapu Ngāti Kahu to determine how the dead whale should be dealt with, however on Saturday morning Ngāti Kahu performed a karakia to acknowledge the death.
'They plan to pull the whale further up the beach to bury it, according to their cultural traditions,' Petrove said.
'The hapu would like to examine the whale's stomach contents to see if there is any plastic.
'They have sought assistance with this from Ngāti Wai expert in whale tikanga, Hori Parata, who is travelling to the site from Whangarei today,' she said.
The cause of the stranding was not yet known.
Ngāti Kahu posted on Facebook saying the whale would be buried and DOC was working with them to watch over the body.
'However, because another sperm whale that died in the Pacific earlier this week was found to have 6kg of plastic in its puku, they are taking a hand sized sample of skin and blubber deep enough to do the required test for microfiber (sic) chemicals before burial,' the post said.
Ngāti Kahu spokesperson Robert Urlich told told Radio New Zealand whales and dolphins were treated with the same dignity as a human.
Ulrich said the iwi consented to samples of the whale's stomach contents being taken.
'As Ngāti Kahu we have not allowed our whales and dolphins that strand to be cut up, however… we have changed our minds about a number of things - mainly because there are a number of problems in the environment that need to be addressed,' Urlich told Radio New Zealand.
'Plastics pollution… is severely affecting our natural environment… and part of this too, of course, is micro fibres which are even more dangerous because micro fibres are ingested by the smaller species of life.
'We have a responsibility to protect our environment and for us here in Ngāti Kahu, we regard the whale and dolphin population as our whanaunga – as our relatives,' Urlich said.