The first 60 penguins have been released from the Wildlife Recovery Centre at Mt Maunganui beach this afternoon.
The little blue penguins have had their feathers cleaned and been given a clean bill of health, after turning up coated in oil following the grounding and subsequent oil spill of the container ship Rena.
Maritime New Zealand on scene commander Alex van Wijngaarden says the release of the first birds has been keenly anticipated by the entire oil spill response team.
“We’re thrilled to have reached the point where we can begin releasing these birds back into the wild, where they belong.”
Before being released each bird has to pass blood tests and the "six hour test" - where they swim for six hours without a break to test their waterproofing, says oiled wildlife response team coordinator Kerri Morgan.
Each bird has been micro-chipped and will be returned to the habitat they came from.
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