A friend was excited to have spotted dolphins just off the Waikawa Beach coast the other day. The dolphins were heading towards the Kāpiti Marine Reserve. Keep your eyes open. And if you’ve seen any dolphins (or other marine species) and especially if you have photos, please let me know at admin@wow-waikawa.nz .
See Dolphins: New Zealand marine mammals (DoC)
Nine different species of dolphin are found around the New Zealand coast
DoC also say at Common dolphin: New Zealand marine mammals that they like people to report sightings:
You can report sightings of dolphins to our conservation hotline 0800 DOCHOT (0800 362 468). You can also report a sighting online.
Reports of sightings are always valuable and help increase our knowledge of dolphin distribution and movements around New Zealand.
If you need help identifying species, download the marine mammal sighting form (PDF, 416K (opens in new window)) (Word, 4,300K (opens in new window)). You can use the images and descriptions to find out which species of dolphin you observed.
Also see the PDF showing what different dolphins and whales look like.
Another resource: Kapiti Marine Reserve:
Kapiti Marine Reserve is popular for its abundant sea life including blue moki, kingfish, seals and dolphins.
