Whales refloated stay at sea, locals asked to stay vigilant

Whales refloated at a Northland beach appear to have stayed at sea though locals are being asked to remain vigilant.

Hundreds of people including members of the Department of Conservation, local hapū Patuharakeke and whale rescue organisation Project Jonah, refloated a pod of stranded pilot whales at Ruakākā beach in Bream Bay.

Four of the whales died in the stranding.

Patuharakeke hapū kept watch overnight and reports at first light reports had been positive, Ari Carrington of the hapū said.

"We have three groups scanning the coastline and the reports have come back clear, which is mean," he said.

Hollie Kereopa, marine researcher at Patuharakeke Te Iwi Trust Board, said they would be monitoring the coastline over the next few days.

"We managed to refloat approximately 20 pilot whales and we haven't had any sighting of them re-stranding along any parts of the Bream Bay coast today so that's a really good sign for us so far," she told Morning Report.

"It's a really long stretch of coastline. Historically it's a major hotspot for whale and dolphin stranding. It's just about keeping an eye on the whole coast and keep continuous monitoring."

The four pilot whales that died in the stranding remained just above the high tide mark on Ruakākā beach overnight on Sunday.

"Some of our whanau were there, camping out with them and spent the night with them."

They would continue the tikanga-based process on Monday for dealing with the dead whales.

DOC Whangārei operations manager Joel Lauterbach the reponse to the stranding was "incredible" and spoke to the community's deep connection with the marine environment.

"It's amazing to witness the genuine care and compassion people have shown toward these magnificent animals."

He said DOC was grateful to Patuharakeke who led the on-the-ground response and the support from Project Jonah and "the hundreds of members of the public".

Project Jonah received calls about 4.30pm on Sunday that the whales were in trouble at Ruakākā beach, general manager Daren Grover said at the weekend.

About 200 people raced to the beach to help, and the majority of the whales were refloated and were being monitored by 8pm, Project Jonah said on Facebook.

DOC said it will remain with hapū members at the beach on Monday and asked the public to remain vigilant to whale sightings and report any potential strandings immediately by calling 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).

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