Wildlife affected by oil

Oiled birds on the water have been confirmed today in relation to the grounding of the vessel Rena off the coast of Tauranga. There have not been any confirmed reports of oiled seals so far, but if members of the public see any affected wildlife please report this to the special phone number 0800 333 771.

Department of Conservation (DOC) and National Oiled Wildlife Response Team members are monitoring the area for any injured wildlife and are also in the field checking on reports from the public.

Members of the public encountering oiled wildlife on the coastline are advised NOT to handle wildlife themselves, or attempt to move or clean the animals. The wildlife team will need precise details of the location, animal species and numbers of any oiled animals encountered. Oiled animals will be transported by the wildlife team.

A specialist oiled wildlife response centre has been established by the National Oiled Wildlife Response Team. Animals affected by oil will be further assessed and treated at the wildlife response centre.
Yesterday four dead oiled birds were observed.

Given the safety concerns, members of the public should not be heading out on the water to assist with recovery of injured animals or go anywhere near the grounded vessel. A 1km exclusion zone remains in place around the vessel.

Any volunteer action should be coordinated through the Incident Command Centre.

Further Information

Oiled wildlife specialists, DOC, Bay of Plenty Regional Council staff and a number of volunteers are this morning monitoring the coastline of Mōtītī Island, Pāpāmoa and Maketū as part of the overall response effort.

DOC has been working with the National Oiled Wildlife Response Team to provide expert advice to the Incident Control Centre on minimising risks to wildlife and protecting wildlife from harm.

Additional staff and volunteers are on standby in case the oiled wildlife response needs to be expanded. DOC staff from across the North Island have been put on standby and a number of boats have also been readied for deployment.

Please see the incident page for more information, questions and answers, fly-over images of the site and information on New Zealand’s oil spill response system.