Fisherman speaks of shock encounter with 400kg dolphin off Northland’s coast

A group of mates are still wrapping their heads around the fact they survived a 400kg-plus dolphin leaping into their boat while fishing off Northland’s coast.

Dean Harrison says he and cousin Milton Brookland and their mate Aysten Holbrow count themselves very lucky after the bizarre encounter on Friday.

“A 400kg dolphin falling out of the sky is going to leave more than just a bruise on the body,” Harrison said.

The bottlenose dolphin is winched on to a pontoon after leaping into a small boat in the Bay of Islands. Photo / DoC

The trio had just finished a successful morning catching snapper at Cape Brett when they decided to head into deeper water to try their luck with kingfish.

They made for a spot on the water that was busy with birds.

Amid their slow approach, a dolphin did a big vertical jump seemingly out of nowhere, Harrison said.

“In the blink of an eye, there was a massive crash and boom, then a live 400kg dolphin filling the inside of our small open top boat going absolutely ballistic.”

Harrison said the dolphin was like a tornado, throwing fishing gear – rods and reels – everywhere while the trio scrambled to get out of its way.

Brookland had felt the dolphin brush down his shoulder and back as it flew past the front of the boat where he had been sitting.

“Our mate [Holbrow] down the back managed somehow to get a beating by the tail when it was thrashing around.”

A check up later on would reveal Holbrow most likely suffered a hairline fracture in his arm as it had been pinned between the boat and the dolphin’s tail.

Harrison said the three friends had clung to the boat’s edges, trying to make themselves as small as possible.

“We stood out of the way with our jaws hanging at our feet trying to comprehend the situation.

“It took quite a while for the brain to catch up and process what was actually happening.”

Harrison said the moment was very surreal.

Once the dolphin calmed, the men checked everyone was okay – including the boat.

There had been a very real worry the boat wouldn’t handle the weight, Harrison said.

“It’s a good ol' Stabicraft so she stayed afloat.”

Harrison said that slowly the men gathered their thoughts and were able to come up with a plan.

“We had no way of getting him off the boat so we were stuck with him,” Harrison said.

“We were like, we’re gonna look after you buddy and figure out what to do with you.”

They asked for help via maritime radio service, Russell Radio. An operator put them in touch with a Department of Conservation ranger who told them to keep the dolphin cool and shaded.

The trio covered the dolphin in towels and hosed it down.

The men hosed the dolphin off as they made their way to shore.

They had also sought help from the nearest vessel they could find.

Harrison said they were freaking out and just needed someone else to be a part of it.

“They sort of didn’t really believe us until they saw the tail I guess.”

The fishermen were instructed by the DoC ranger to head to the Waitangi boat ramp where DoC staff and hāpu would meet them.

Harrison said the dolphin was checked over by a specialist, who told him it was a juvenile male bottlenose dolphin about 420kg to 450kg.

The dolphin had a few scratches where it landed on the metal deck but was otherwise unhurt.

A tractor and many “helping hands” were used to lift it back into the water for further checks.

Once the shock and disbelief started to wear off, the men wondered “how the hell” they had managed to survive a dolphin leaping into their boat.

Harrison said for some reason they were spread out and not in their usual spots. Had they been, the dolphin would have crushed them.

“We’re looking at him and we’re looking at how easily the potential was for this to be an unsurvivable event. We’re just so lucky.”

The reality that a dolphin leaped into their boat is yet to sink in.

“We’ve accepted that it’s happened but the fact that it’s happened is still hard to get your head around,” Harrison said.

“It’s an experience that really only the three of us and the dolphin can really understand because it’s hard to explain it.”

The dolphin was given the name Tohu, meaning “sign”.

Harrison said he had since named his boat – which bore “battle scars” from the encounter – Tohu.