more common<\/a> sight in the harbour.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Barnes ran to the waterfront and realised her colleague was right.<\/p>\n
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She said the whale lingered in the harbour north of the marina, near a State Highway 2 bridge and the Port of Tauranga, for about 15 to 20 minutes before disappearing.<\/p>\n
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Barnes had never seen a humpback whale before and said it was \u201cpretty special\u201d.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s fascinating how it went under the water just for so long \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
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Her video of the whale, posted to the marina\u2019s social media on Thursday afternoon, has received hundreds of reactions.<\/p>\n
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Department of Conservation (DoC) biodiversity ranger Sarah-Lyn Wilson confirmed it was a humpback whale.<\/p>\n
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Wilson said DoC received reports of a large whale in the harbour about midday and followed up with witnesses before heading where the animal had last been seen.<\/p>\n
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She did not see the whale, but was able to identify it from the video.<\/p>\n
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While humpback whales could be spotted offthe Bay of Plenty, Wilson said it was unusual for one to venture into Tauranga Harbour.<\/p>\n
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She said it may have been exploring, or have become disoriented.<\/p>\n
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DoC\u2019s immediate focus was making sure the whale could safely navigate back out to sea and avoid stranding.<\/p>\n
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She said large whales would find the Tauranga Harbour difficult to navigate, with shallow banks, multiple channels and heavy marine traffic. Humpback whales can grow to 15m long.<\/p>\n
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DoC alerted the Port of Tauranga to the sighting to reduce the risk of a vessel strike.<\/p>\n
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The port is New Zealand\u2019s largest and has wharves on either side of the channel the whale used.<\/p>\n
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Wilson said no further sightings had been reported, suggesting the whale had likely returned to deeper water.<\/p>\n
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She said people who encountered whales must follow marine mammal protection regulations and stay at least 50 metres away.<\/p>\n
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Wilson encouraged anyone who spotted a whale or other large marine mammal in the harbour to contact the DoC hotline, 0800 DOC HOT.<\/p>\n
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Annabel Reid<\/a> is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post, based in Rotorua. Originally from Hawke\u2019s Bay, she has a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Canterbury.<\/p>\n
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