Tourist operators in the Hauraki Gulf have been asked to keep an eye out for a humpback whale which has some rope entangled nears its mouth.
The Department of Conservation (DOC) believes the whale may be heading south.
It was last seen in the Bay of Islands around 11am last Wednesday after DOC received reports it had a short piece of rope and a clear plastic buoy entangled near its mouth.
The sighting came just hours after DOC successfully freed another entangled whale, but plans to free the second were stalled due to bad weather.
DOC's Bay of Islands marine mammal ranger, Elke Reufels, said the whale could be heading south as part of its annual migration from breeding and calving grounds in tropical waters to feeding grounds in the waters of Antarctica.
"DOC offices at Whangarei, Warkworth and Auckland have been alerted, and tourism boat operators in the Hauraki Gulf are now also keeping an eye out for the animal," she said.
Members of the public were also asked to report any whale sightings, especially in the Bay of Islands and southward along the North Eastern Coast and within the Hauraki Gulf.
NZPA