Dead whale found on Westshore Beach, Napier

DOC staff and contractors worked to removed the body of a dead whale from Westshore Beach on Thursday. Photo / Supplied

A dead beaked whale nearly five metres long has been found washed up on the beach near Westshore, Napier on Thursday.

Tryphena Cracknell, DOC Operations Manager for Hawke’s Bay, said the whale was about 4.79 metres long.

“We don’t know [how it died] at the moment, and will not be performing necropsy. A skin and blubber sample will be sent to a laboratory for testing,” Cracknell said.

She said the body will be moved off the beach to a local burial site and proper protocols will be followed with local iwi.

“New Zealand is a hotspot for marine mammal strandings. Since 1840, more than 5,000 strandings of whales and dolphins have been recorded around the New Zealand coast. Strandings occur all year round and usually involve just one or two animals,” she said.

“DOC manages whale strandings and rescues with the help of local communities, volunteers, and organisations like Project Jonah.”

A passerby, who told Hawke’s Bay Today he wished to remain unnamed, said he saw several people working to pull the whale’s body up the beach around midday while on a walk along the beach.

He said Department of Conservation staff and workers from Dodge Contracting had arrived to remove the body and he believed members of the local iwi or hapu were present.

He believes the dead whale was first sighted and reported a couple of hours earlier, around 10am.