Evan Davies DOC/Supplied
Hapū are helping the Department of Conservation with the stranded dolphin.
A bottlenose dolphin has stranded near Whangārei for the second time in 24 hours.
The fully grown dolphin was first spotted on Tuesday night stranded on Ngunguru Sandspit.
Department of Conservation staff, working with Project Jonah and local hapū – Ngati Taka, Ngati Korora and Te Waiariki – managed to refloat the dolphin.
However, the dolphin was again found stranded on Tuesday morning, DOC spokesperson Abigail Monteith said.
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At lunchtime on Tuesday, DOC staff and members of the hapū were onsite with the dolphin and receiving marine technical advice.
Another attempt to refloat the dolphin will be made soon, she said.
STUFF
A marine mammal sanctuary in Northland’s Bay of Islands is helping dolphins act normally and care for their young, DOC says. (Video first published August 2022)
No public assistance is required on site at this stage, Monteith said.
The dolphin appears to be about 2.5m long, 350-400kg, fully grown, with no obvious injuries.
There are about 450 bottlenose dolphins in the Upper North Island and their coastal habitat makes them susceptible to human impacts, according to DOC.
In December 2021, a marine mammal sanctuary was introduced in the Bay of Islands – about 100km north of the stranding – to help reverse a decline in bottlenose dolphin numbers.
