A search for what's believed to be an entangled Māui dolphin spotted near Whites Beach north of Auckland’s Piha has been called off due to bad weather.
The Department of Conservation on Thursday said it had been searching for the dolphin for two days, after it had been seen swimming with a rope around its tail.
“We received the report on Tuesday morning of an entangled dolphin off the west coast of the Auckland region travelling in a pod of three – four individuals, with a rope around its tail. The report received indicated this may be a Māui dolphin,” said DOC’s Catherine Peters said.
Due to worsening weather conditions and safety concerns DOC on Friday called the land and air-based search off, and said it would reassess the situation next week.
“As the weather is deteriorating with a tropical cyclone west of New Zealand, we have made the call to halt land and air-based search efforts as the safety of our staff and volunteers is the top priority.
“We will be reassessing our response next week when we can expect weather conditions to clear.”
The disentanglement team is remaining on standby and ready to respond once weather eases, allowing for a safe opportunity to disentangle the dolphin, if it is located.
DOC is also encouraging anyone who had been supporting the search to consider staying out and away from beaches as unsafe weather conditions approach.
Māui dolphins are one of the rarest and smallest dolphins in the world and are critically endangered, with only about 48 to 64 over one year old left.
They’re found on the west coast of the North Island.
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