Gulf Harbour in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Lucy Xia
The plastic wrapped around a body found in Gulf Harbour north of Auckland yesterday may help preserve evidence that can be used in the investigation, says a forensic anthropologist says.
Recreational fisherman Paul Middleton recovered the bag on Tuesday morning and alerted police after finding the remains inside.
Police are hoping a post-mortem being carried out today will provide answers about the death, but stress the investigation is still in the very early stages.
They are still working to establish the identity of the dead person.
Otago University lecturer Doctor Angela Clark - a forensic anthropologist who also works with police - told RNZ's Checkpoint the several layers of plastic could help the investigation by preserving the clothes and slowing the decomposition process.
"It will probably preserve the body for a short period of time, it'll protect the body from the effects of water."
She said the plastic, combined with the immersion in water, would affect the decomposition time. The plastic would also help to preserve any clothing found on the body, allowing more evidence be collected.
"The decomposition process will be a lot slower than you might expect if the body was on land."
Dr Clark - who specialises in water forensics - said there were many factors to consider when investigating a body found in the ocean, including the warmth of the water, the speed of the current and how salty the water is.
She said it could be possible to work out where the body entered the water, with similar mappings on other cases where experts on local water flow were called in.
The body was found floating on top of the water and Dr Clark said this could indicate it had not been in the ocean for long. But she said in most cases the body would initially sink, before floating back to the surface as the body broke down.
"Water is a very variable medium, so it's hard to predict."
Gulf Harbour in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Lucy Xia
'A little bit eerie'
Meanwhile, a woman who has been freedom camping near the Gulf Harbour ferry terminal says she hopes more information will come to light soon.
Elly Taylor and her husband have been freedom camping at the terminal carpark for the past couple of days.
The recovery of the body close to where they parked and the subsequent police presence was not what they expected.
"It's been very nice staying here, it's been quiet friendly people. So yesterday when we heard about this and saw the police arriving, we were surprised of course," she said.
"These things happen I guess, we just really hope that there's going to be an answer to all this, and that family will get answers, obviously there's been some foul play you'd think," she added.
UK tourist Matt - who had also been camping in the area - said it was an unusual experience.
"A little bit eerie, a little bit weird," he said.
Matt said he was not too concerned about safety in the area.
"We've never had anything like this, but it's not necessarily happened here, I think it's maybe drifted in with the currents and the wind," he said.