Blue whales sighting to 2013 in the South Taranaki Bight, New Zealand

Blue whale distribution in the Southern Hemisphere is poorly understood. Their survival is dependent on the ability to reliably encounter large aggregations of euphausiid prey. Therefore, documenting and protecting blue whale foraging grounds is fundamental to enhancing their recovery. Various data sources are compiled here to support the hypothesis that the South Taranaki Bight, between the north and south islands of New Zealand, is used as a foraging ground by blue whales for a common euphausiid prey that aggregate as a function of a nearby coastal upwelling system.
It is difficult to distinguish between an Antarctic and pygmy blue whale without genetic analysis and therefore sightings and strandings in the STB region were not recorded to subspecies. Hereafter, the term ‘blue whale’ refers to both subspecies in the Southern Hemisphere unless otherwise described to subspecies.