Dead whales from Farewell Spit stranding blessed, left to decompose

Monday, 21 March 2022

The pilot whales that died after a mass stranding at Farewell Spit have been secured to fixed points in the tidal zone to decompose naturally.

The pilot whales that died after a mass stranding last week at Farewell Spit have been secured to fixed points in the tidal zone to decompose naturally.

Department of Conservation Golden Bay operations manager Dave Winterburn on Monday said the dead whales were blessed by members of Manawhenua ki Mohua, which is an iwi-mandated organisation representing Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Rārua and Te Ātiawa in Golden Bay.

The whale carcasses were secured for decomposition in an area of Farewell Spit not open to public access.

It comes after DOC rangers on Thursday evening counted 36 whales stranded along Farewell Spit, of which seven were alive. When rangers arrived back at the site early Friday, they found 34 whales, of which five were alive.

Department of Conservation ranger Ellie Kerrisk early Friday, taking care of one of the stranded pilot whales.

* DOC, Project Jonah medics refloat surviving whales after stranding

* No whales believed to have survived mass stranding at Farewell Spit

Volunteers work to keep stranded whales alive after a stranding at Farewell Spit in February 2021. (Video published February 2021)

“It is thought there were [fewer] whales found there on Friday morning because two carcasses may have been lifted by the high tide on Thursday night and taken out to sea,” Winterburn said at the time.

The rangers on Friday, together with Project Jonah medics, refloated the five surviving whales with the 11am high tide.

Winterburn on Monday said they “could not be 100 per cent sure of the outcome” of the five.

Four whales stranded shortly after the five were refloated.

“They could be from among the five refloated whales, but we can’t be certain as they stranded at different locations over several kilometres,” Winterburn said. “However, due to the timing, we think they are likely the same whales.”

Of the four, one whale was dead on stranding and the other three were “euthanised for their welfare as they were in poor condition and would not survive”.

Two pilot whales found dead on Saturday morning had been euthanised on Friday, Winterburn said.

“Decisions to euthanise stranded whales are not taken lightly and euthanasia is carried out when it is the humane course of action.”

Winterburn earlier said that while it was an unfortunate event, whale strandings were a natural phenomenon.

Golden Bay was a high stranding area with Farewell Spit hooking around the northern entrance into the bay and forming extensive, many-kilometres-wide, intertidal sand flats, he said.

Project Jonah has a specific page of instructions for strandings in Golden Bay due to the high frequency of incidents in the area.

Last February, more than 40 long-finned pilot whales were stranded. DOC staff and volunteers were able to refloat 38 of the 49 whales, and guide them back to sea.

Anyone who spots stranded whales or dolphins is urged to call the DOC 24-hour emergency number – 0800 DOCHOT (0800 362 468) – so rangers can respond as soon as possible.