Three whales have died, including one euthanised by the Department of Conservation, after a pod re-stranded in Golden Bay overnight.
Thirty pilot whales remain stranded on Puponga Beach near Pakawau.
People from Project Jonah will attempt to refloat the remaining whales early Sunday afternoon.
It said high tide was expected between 1pm and 1.30pm, but the water will be in around the whales before then.
Project Jonah was called to reports of up to 30 pilot whales coming on shore about 7pm Saturday.
The department said the pod consisted of “a range of ages and sizes”.
“Gusty easterly winds are not making things easy,” Andrew Lamason, acting operations manager Golden Bay, said.
Local medics and the senior Project Jonah team stayed with the whales until last light.
It was the third stranding in the area in the past two months.
“We welcome help this morning to upright the whales and keep them cool and then those with wetsuits will be needed from midday to assist with the refloat,” Project Jonah said on social media.
“It’s windy so please bring appropriate gear to keep yourself warm. Whales are stranded in Pakawau, west of the campground.”
In a post on social media, Project Jonah said another stranding had taken place in Christchurch, involving a juvenile beaked whale that came ashore in New Brighton.
Eight of 10 whales that were stranded on January 7 were successfully reloaded.
A larger group stranded in December, with mixed results.
Department of Conservation Golden Bay operations manager Ross Trotter told RNZ last week it was unclear why whale strandings happened, particularly on Farewell Spit.
“It has been going on for years. There’s been a lot of theories and scientific research into it but we don’t know why they [the whales] strand in the first place or why they repeat strand.”
The shape of the bay was a possible factor, he said.
As for the whale in Christchurch, Project Jonah said they were quickly at the scene and got it refloated.
“Alongside locals and Department of Conservation rangers, the area is being closely monitored for any further signs of the whale.”
rnz.co.nz
