Marine life on show along coast of Abel Tasman National Park
Friday, 11 October 2019
Hector's dolphins, migrating sea birds and even humpback whales have been visiting the coast of the Abel Tasman National Park.
Abel Tasman Eco Tours director Stew Robertson said this time of year was ' pretty incredible' for seeing wildlife.
'In the last two weeks we have seen four different species of dolphins; Hector's, dusky, bottlenose and common, as well as mollymawks and giant petrels.'
A few weeks ago he spotted two humpback whales from the shore, swimming just inside Tonga Island, during the beach clean up in the national park for Conservation Week.
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'We normally see them this time of year as they are migrating back south, they come into the bay and there are probably a lot more of them around than what we actually see.'
He said seal pups were being weaned as their mothers prepared for the breeding season and the pups who died were a food source for the sea birds.
'The bait fish come in, a mix of pilchards and anchovies and there is also whitebait. There's been thousands of fluttering shearwaters and the gannets are all in, it's pretty cool.'
Visitors travelling into the park with Wilsons Abel Tasman saw a humpback breach last weekend between Tonga Quarry and Awaroa.
Abel Tasman AquaTaxi skipper Jared Lawrence spotted two humpback whales a few weeks ago and said it was the first time in his 12 years working on the water taxi that he had seen them in the park.
He'd seen pilot whales and southern right whales, but glimpsing the 'majestic' humpbacks was 'pretty special indeed'.
Lawrence said spring time was a great time to see marine life, and people should keep their eyes peeled for dolphins and whales.'
A humpback whale and her calf were seen last November in the middle of Tasman Bay by Nelson man Peter Hamilton while he was on a fishing trip.
Department of Conservation (DOC) marine technical advisor Hannah Hendriks said humpback whales were currently migrating from their breeding grounds in the tropics to their feeding grounds around Antarctica.
Hendriks said it wasn't unusual to see a humpback on its own when the whales were migrating. It was uncommon to see the large whales in Tasman Bay and DOC was aware of one recent sighting.
It is recommended that boaties keep a safe distance from whales, especially whales with calves.
DOC guidelines are to travel 'no faster than idle or 'no wake' speed' within 300 metres of marine mammals, not to circle or obstruct them, and not to cut through a pod.