Whale watching in New Zealand

Whale watching in New Zealand is predominantly centred around the areas of Kaikōura and the Hauraki Gulf. Known as the 'whale capital', Kaikōura is a world-famous whale watching site, in particular for sperm whales which is currently the most abundant of large whales in New Zealand waters.[1] The Hauraki Gulf Marine Park (just outside Auckland city) is also a significant whale watching area with a resident population of Bryde's Whales commonly viewed alongside other cetaceans Common Dolphins, Bottlenose Dolphins and Orca. Whale watching is also offered in other locations, often as eco-tours and in conjunction with dolphin watching. Land-based whale watching from New Zealand's last whaling station, which closed in 1964, is undertaken for scientific purposes, mostly by ex-whalers.

Background

Many places that were formerly whaling stations went into recession after the collapse of the whaling industry; New Zealand stopped whaling in 1964.[2] Whaling did not stop due to environmental or ethical concerns but because the declining number of whales made the industry uneconomic. Whilst New Zealand protected right whales in 1935, it was not until 1978 that all marine mammals were protected by law.[3] Kaikōura's recent development has been used to advocate the benefits of whale watching over whale hunting and other whale-watching operators such as Auckland Whale & Dolphin Safari have successfully combined scientific research and conservation efforts alongside their commercial offering. Due to illegal whaling by Soviet Union (with help of Japan) in the 1970s, recovery state of baleen whales migrating to New Zealand coasts were heavily slowed down, far worse than in Australian waters, and this contributed to make public images that Kaikōura is the only site for whale watching, and Sperm Whale is the only species can be observed normally. New Zealand is the first nation in the world to protect marine mammals by law.

Hauraki Gulf

Largely regarded as one of the most abundant and diverse marine reserves in the world, the Hauraki Gulf is home to several species of cetaceans, most notably Bryde's whales, Killer whales (Orca), Common Dolphins and Bottlenose Dolphins. Situated just off the coast of New Zealand's largest city Auckland, the main whale watching operator Auckland Whale & Dolphin Safari departs from the Viaduct Harbour and runs daily trips (weather permitting) into the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.

  • Whale watching in the Hauraki Gulf
  • Passengers aboard a whale watching vessel enjoy a close encounter with a Bryde's whale
  • A Bryde's whale is viewed from Auckland Whale & Dolphin Safari's vessel the 'Dolphin Explorer'
  • Orca are often seen close to Auckland city
  • A Bryde's whale approaches a whale watching vessel in Auckland
  • A pod of Orca are spotted cruising past Rangitoto Island near Auckland

Kaikōura

Main article: Whale Watch Kaikōura

The Kaikōura Canyon is a geologically active submarine canyon located southwest of the Kaikōura Peninsula. The canyon descends into deep water and merges into an ocean channel system that can be traced for hundreds of kilometres across the deep ocean floor.[4] At the head of the canyon, the depth of water is around 30 metres (98 ft), but it drops rapidly to 600 metres (2,000 ft) and continues down to around 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) deep where it meets the Hikurangi Channel. Studies of the Kaikōura Canyon have found that it is a highly productive ecosystem with 10 to 100 times the density of marine life found in other deep sea habitats.[5] Sperm whales can be seen close to the coast, because the deep water of the Kaikōura Canyon is only one kilometre (0.62 mi) off the shoreline to the south of the Kaikōura Peninsula.[6]

The sperm whales seen off the Kaikōura coast are almost entirely sub-adult or adult males. They typically spend around 25% of their time resting on the surface, with the remaining 75% of time spent in deep foraging dives.[7] Male sperm whales are sighted year-round at Kaikōura but individual animals are not truly resident. The Kaikōura region represents only a small portion of the total range of the animals that are seen. A study reported in 2021 examined the records of observations of sperm whales off Kaikōura using photo-identification data collected over 27 years. The analysis showed that although the numbers of sperm whales observed in winter has been relatively constant over the period, there has been a steady decline in the abundance during summer periods.[8]

In addition to sperm whales, humpback whales and southern right whales may be seen off the Kaikōura coast,[9][10] and rare beaked whales and blue whales have also been seen.[11][12]

Whale Watch Kaikōura offers marine wildlife tours focussing on sperm whales and other cetaceans, using vessels operating from the marina at South Bay, Kaikōura. The company was originally established as Kaikoura Tours, and was formed by members of the Ngāti Kuri hapū, a sub-tribe of the South Island based Māori iwi Ngāi Tahu. It offered its first whale watching tours in July 1989. By 2009, the company was taking between 90,000 and 100,000 people a year on whale-watching trips, and the business was the largest employer in Kaikōura with over 70 staff during the peak season.[13][14]

Since 1990, Whale Watch Kaikōura has been the only ecotourism operator with permits for whale watching from a vessel off Kaikōura.[15] The business has been owned and operated by Ngāti Kuri since its establishment in 1989, and has won multiple national and international awards.[16]

Whale watching is also done by air, and the Kaikoura Aerodrome is mainly used for whale spotting tourist flights by Wings over Whales and Air Kaikoura – Kaikoura Aero Club.

  • Whale watching at Kaikōura
  • Whale Watch Kaikōura office in the former railway station (2007)
  • Sperm whale eating a fish off Kaikōura; surface feeding is not common behaviour
  • Whale watching by plane, with Kaikōura Peninsula visible in the background
  • Tail fluke of a sperm whale
  • Whale Watch boat and whale

Tory Channel

New Zealand's last whaling station was in Whekenui Bay in Tory Channel in the Marlborough Sounds. The high cliffs at the entrance of Tory Channel are ideal for land-based whale watching. During the migratory season for whales, the lookout is manned and whales passing Cook Strait are watched for research purposes.[17] Most of the volunteers undertaking the work are ex-whalers.[18] It is also the location where the first Southern right whale on main islands sighted since the end of whaling. Cetaceans can be seen in Waikawa, Picton,[19] French Pass, and in Abel Tasman National Park as well.

Other locations

Whale watching and dolphin watching is also offered in the Bay of Islands[20][21] and Moutohora Island (also known as Whale Island) in the Bay of Plenty.[22]

Future developments

Other locations (or anywhere else) in the nation, such as at bays on Aupouri Peninsula, Rangaunu Harbour, Whangārei Harbour, Firth of Thames, Tamaki Bight, eastern Coromandel Peninsula,[23] Mount Maunganui, Hawke's Bay, Castlepoint, vicinity to Wellington, South Taranaki Bight, New Plymouth, Kapiti Island, Golden Bay, Hokitika, Banks Peninsula, Moeraki and Karitane, Otago Peninsula, Taieri Mouth, Nugget Point,[24] The Catlins,[25] Port Craig in Te Waewae Bay, Fiordland, Paterson Inlet, Chatham and Kermadec Islands may possibly become watching locations in the future when numbers of whales migrating into coastal waters show recovery. Sighting numbers of Southern rights, Humpbacks, Blues are showing strong increases in recent years.

Southern right whales, Tohora, 'the most important whale to New Zealand' is very slowly, but steadily making come backs to the nation's waters, and they will possibly become one of the most important species for whale watching as well since they are renowned as a target for non-harmful, land-based watching, and will recolonize the shores of the entire New Zealand to become seasonal residents.[26] (see also Whale Rider, and "real whale riders" sometimes appear for this species).[27] For Southern blue and Pygmy blues, even before the historic discovery of a forging ground off Cape Egmont, whales have been showing come backs along the coasts especially in Northland waters such as off Bay of Islands, Tutukaka, and Kaikōura. Fin whales and Sei whales are confirmed in Chatham Rise in good numbers, but less frequently seen in coastal waters. Minke whales can be seen off entire nation especially in Bay of Islands, but due to their small size it is not easy to observe them. Beaked whales are occasionally seen. Of these, most frequently observed species are Arnoux's beaked whales (once a group of these had become a regular annual to Doubtful Sound),[28][29] and Gray's beaked whales. New Zealand's coasts are also renowned as prominent habitats for curious, ray-hunting Orcas.[30][31]

The deep sea canyon off Dunedin was revealed to be a rich habitat for toothed whales and its significance may be comparable to that of Kaikōura especially for the presences of Shepherd's beaked whales.[32]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Whale watching in New Zealand.
  1. ^ "Marine Mammals and Salmon Farms" (PDF). Epa.govt.nz. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Whale watching video". Department of Conservation. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  3. ^ Phillips, Jock (13 July 2012). "Whaling – Modern whaling and whale watching". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  4. ^ Carter, R.M; Carter, L (1982). "The Motunau Fault and other structures at the southern edge of the Australian-Pacific plate boundary, offshore Marlborough, New Zealand". Tectonophysics. 88 (1): 133–159. doi:10.1016/0040-1951(82)90206-2.
  5. ^ De Leo, Fabio C.; Smith, Craig R.; Rowden, Ashley A.; Bowden, David A; Clark, Malcolm R. (5 May 2010). "Submarine canyons: hotspots of benthic biomass and productivity in the deep sea". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 277 (1695). Royal Society Publishing: 2783–2792. doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.0462. PMC 2981985. PMID 20444722.
  6. ^ Ballance, Alison (1 December 2016). "Giant underwater landslide in the Kaikōura Canyon". RNZ. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  7. ^ Ophélie Sagnol; Femke Reitsma (1 December 2014). "A Spatio-Temporal Model to Track Individuals from a Shore-Based Station: A Case Study for Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) Off Kaikoura, New Zealand". Aquatic Mammals. 40 (4): 321–328. doi:10.1578/AM.40.4.2014.321. ISSN 0167-5427. Wikidata Q137722992.
  8. ^ Somerford et al. 2021, pp. 606–607.
  9. ^ "Dawn whale sightings almost guaranteed". The Press. 15 August 1991. pp. 3 (Supplement) – via Papers Past.
  10. ^ "Whales sighted". The Press. 28 September 1991. p. 6 – via Papers Past.
  11. ^ "Rare whales spotted off Kaikoura". The Press. 3 January 1995. p. 4 – via Papers Past.
  12. ^ "Rare whale sighted". The Press. 10 April 1993. p. 6 – via Papers Past.
  13. ^ Young, Rachel; Dangerfield, Emma (12 November 2009). "Whale Watch Kaikoura venture 'best in world'". Stuff. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  14. ^ Goodwin, Harold (6 November 2009). "Whale Watch Kaikoura". haroldgoodwin.info. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  15. ^ Somerford et al. 2021, p. 621.
  16. ^ "Our Awards". Whale Watch. Archived from the original on 8 December 2025. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  17. ^ "Whalers out for the count". Stuff. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  18. ^ "Whale Watching". Television New Zealand. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  19. ^ "New Zealand Dolphins, Seals, Whales cruises in the Marlborough Sounds". Naturetours.co.nz. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  20. ^ "Paihia Attractions". Paihia Community Website. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  21. ^ "Whales". Fullers GreatSights Bay Of Islands. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  22. ^ "Dolphins and Whale Island Eco-Tour". Diveworks Dolphin and Seal Encounters. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  23. ^ "Whale watching from sea kayaks in the Coromandel, New Zealand ~ Jon Traylen". YouTube. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  24. ^ "Photo of Whale at nugget point". Panoramio. 10 February 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  25. ^ "Catlins Marine Encounters's Photos – Catlins Marine Encounters". Facebook. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  26. ^ "Southern right whale back in NZ waters". TVNZ. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  27. ^ "Wade Doak – Timeline Photos". Facebook. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  28. ^ "Whales at Doubtful Sound : Photographic images". Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  29. ^ "Fiordland Coastal Newsletter" (PDF). Fiordlandhelicopters.co.nz. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  30. ^ "2014 March Orca at Maraetai New Zealand". YouTube. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  31. ^ "Beautiful Orcas in New Zealand". YouTube. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  32. ^ Elder V.. 2017. Population of whales off Dunedin coast significant, study finds. The Otago Daily Times. Retrieved on 15 May 2017

Sources cited

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.