DOC is asking people to keep a lookout for a whale reported to be entangled off the Otago Coast.
DOC received a report of a southern right whale/tohorā entangled with a large pink buoy about five nautical miles off Pukekura/Taiaroa Head on Tuesday afternoon.
A team of DOC staff and mana whenua searched the area thoroughly by boat yesterday but couldn't find the whale or the pink buoy.
We are calling for people to look out for the whale and report any sightings to the 0800 DOC HOT line (0800 362 468), says DOC Operations Manager Gabe Davies.
"The report we had was of a large southern right whale, although we don't have photos so haven't been able to confirm this.
"The whale was reported to be entangled with the pink buoy and appeared to be swimming around it with impaired ability to move freely.
"The team did a thorough grid search yesterday but couldn't locate the whale or the buoy. We don't know whether the whale has got itself free or remains entangled.
"Southern right whales don't have a typical north to south migration like humpback whales, so we don't know which direction it might be headed.
"We're appealing to the public to report any sightings of either the whale or the buoy. We need details of location, ideally GPS coordinates, and direction headed, time of sighting and photos, if possible," says Gabe Davies.
The DOC and mana whenua team had hoped to place a satellite tag on the entangled gear to allow the whale to be tracked while preparing a disentanglement plan.
Disentangling marine mammals is highly specialised and dangerous work and members of the public should never attempt to disentangle a whale or interact with it.
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