The Project Jonah Marine Mammal Medic Course at NMIT and Tāhunanui Beach breached 45 new wetsuit-poised locals ready to assist in stranded whale and dolphin rescue earlier this month.
Nelson-based general manager of the organisation Daren Grover says the course is annually spouted in the region and it was important following a recent local mass stranding.
For five days starting from 2 December, Project Jonah and other community groups and volunteers responded to a stranding of 37 long-finned pilot whales at Farewell Spit.
Fourteen of them were successfully returned to the ocean, the remainder had succumbed over several restrandings.
“It was a fabulous response from people, they really did step up, and some people came down for two or even three days,” he says.
“Coming down in the middle of the week to help save lives when everybody's got responsibilities, it’s quite incredible.
“Golden Bay in particular has quite a unique geography, it’s a very shallow bay in parts, so when whales come into that shallow area, they're unaware of the tide dropping around them, and that can simply be one reason that they get caught out.”
Daren says the course was split into theory and physical sessions which included how to use rescue equipment and safely return marine mammals to the water.
“The more people that know what to do, if they are that first person to find a stranded whale or dolphin, then we really want them to make a phone call, seek help, so sharing that knowledge in their networks is key.
“If we ever do call them to a stranding and they are available, then they're more than welcome to come along and put their knowledge into practice.”
Daren says if stranded whales or dolphins are spotted contact Project Jonah’s stranding hotline 0800 494 253 or the Department of Conservation 0800 DOC HOT.
