Watch: Orca venture into Napier harbour delighting passers-by

Orca venturing into Napier inner harbour have delighted passers-by during a balmy winter’s morning.

On Tuesday morning, at least two orca ventured deep into the inner harbour and could be seen near Napier Sailing Club.

Orca Research Trust founder and scientist Ingrid Visser said it was not unusual to see them throughout the year.

“We do have records of them going into the harbour and that area in general for every month of the year,” she said.

“They are going in there to look for rays and it is a good sign they are coming into the harbour, as they are using the harbour still and haven’t been driven away.

“So I commend locals for behaving appropriately.”

There is a population of about 200 New Zealand coastal orca which swim around New Zealand shores, she said.

Visser said Napier harbour was a great spot to witness them when they occasionally venture into that area.

“It is a spectacular wildlife-watching opportunity.

“You can see nature in the raw, as it were, and there are not many places in the world where you have an apex predator that comes right into the middle of town.”

However, as a reminder, she said they were protected by law and you can not approach within 50m of orca in the ocean, unless of course you were watching them on the side of a harbour or coastline.

It is also an offence to fly drones close to marine mammals, such as orca, and drones must be kept 150m away.

Visser said the most common pod number of orca was six, but that can vary from two to 14. She said in this case it might be that more orca were close by.

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.