Stranded whale at Coffs Harbour

Rough weather normally brings a whale stranding or two, and the recent storms were no different. There was a stranding of a Blainville beaked whale at Coffs Harbour.

NPWS, ORRCA, Coffs Harbour City Council and Dolphin Marine Conservation Park jumped into action and the whale was quickly removed for a post-mortem by local expert vet.

Blainsville beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris) are rarely seen in Australia. They are normally found out off the continental shelf in deep oceanic waters feeding on squid. Up until 2020, NSW had only ever recorded nine Blainville strandings. In the last 12 months we have had five more (including one in SE Qld).

That has us all a little concerned, so after some early morning chats with the Australian Registry for Wildlife Health, Wildlife Health Australia and the Australian Museum an additional set of samples were taken to assist us in trying to understand the concerning trend.

The Marine Estate Management Strategy has a focus on building partnerships and improving our understanding of what is driving threats to marine species in NSW.

Read more marine estate news.