Close encounters of the maritime kind

A small pod of rare striped dolphins off the Northland coast. Photo / Far Out Ocean Research

Rarely seen beaked whales, a new group of sperm whales, a young whale shark and extremely rare dolphin species were just a few of the marine creatures encountered of the Northland coast by the Far Out Ocean Research Collective team earlier this month.

A team of seven marine mammal and seabird specialists from the Paihia-based non-government organisation, which is dedicated to learning more about the sea life off Northland, undertook a week-long survey that Far Out scientist and trustee Jochen Zaeschmar said had highlighted the "incredible" diversity of life in that area.

"This is a pretty special place," he said.

"To find this array of rare marine mammals and megafauna is amazing.

"We are doing these surveys to figure out what is out here, learn more about these creatures, and monitor how they are doing under the changing ocean conditions."

This kind of multi-day offshore survey was not easy to do, however. Going 30 to 50 miles off the coast to observe and identify marine mammals and seabirds required excellent weather conditions, and a suitable vessel, as well as the right equipment and expertise. For those reasons, systematic surveying has not been done in this region before.

"We are learning and seeing something new every time we go out," Far Out trustee Dr Marta Guerra said. An expert in sperm whale research, having studied the population at Kaikōura for her PhD thesis, she was particularly excited about Far Out's sperm whale encounters this year and in 2020.

"We can identify individual sperm whales by the nicks and notches on the trailing edge of their flukes," she said.

"So far the ones we have found in large groups in Northland are different to those in Kaikōura, and include females and juveniles rather than males only, which is very exciting. It's a whole new population that we were previously unaware of."

As well as marine mammal and megafauna observations, the team also took details of seabird sightings, made underwater acoustic recordings and did some oceanographic sampling, gathering data that would help to provide a picture of the complex interactions between the species and their environment.

Zaeschmar couldn't wait to "get out there" again.

"My highlight was definitely the sighting of the Risso's dolphins, as I had never seen them before," he said.

"We have been able to create a catalogue of the individuals we saw, which can be used by researchers all across New Zealand. We are hoping to get out there again (last week), depending on the weather, to survey some other areas. I'm excited for what we will see next."

The Far Out Ocean Research Collective is a group of five marine scientists who set up the not-for-profit trust in 2017 to allow them to do this kind of research. Their key focus areas are offshore surveys, studying false killer whale and oceanic bottlenose dolphin interactions, pilot whales and sperm whales. Anyone who sees any of those species is asked to report them on 0800 327-688 (0800 FAR OUT).

For more information go to www.farout.org.nz, follow them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/faroutresearch) or on Instagram (@faroutocean).