Members of a Marlborough conservation group have raised $20,000 towards keeping an annual whale survey going.
It's been announced the Cook Strait Whale Survey will not go ahead this year after a corporate sponsor pulled out and the Department of Conservation was unable to cover the estimated $80,000 cost of the month-long winter migration survey.
Guardians of the Sounds chair and ecotourism operator Paul Keating said the project was hugely important to Marlborough.
"It will now galvanise us as a region to ensure that we have multiple sources of funding available for this project and that we plan ahead, you know for the next two or three years to keep it in place."
DoC said it was seeking new sponsorship for the survey next year.