Beaked whales strand in New Zealand

2026, October 9. New Zealand, Otago, Dunedin beaches, Smaills and Tomahawk beaches. Two deceased juvenile Gray’s beaked whales were found on adjoining beaches. A 3m-long whale was found on Smaills Beach, while another slightly smaller whale was located on Tomahawk Beach. The locations are a little over a kilometre apart. Department of Conservation (DOC) staff and local mana whenua coordinated on-site to handle necropsy/burial details.

Notes: Regional Acoustic Migration & The Dunedin Strandings.

While a Marine Animal Disturbance Alert (MAD) was recently issued for the Chatham Islands/East Coast of New Zealand region following a detected bolide entry, I do not attribute the latest Dunedin beaked whale strandings directly to that specific event. My disturbance alerts are designed to cover extended, multi-month windows following significant high-altitude airbursts. This temporal scope is necessary because single events rarely exist in isolation; instead, they are part of broader regional atmospheric and acoustic patterns. Over the past three months, we have observed a progressive southward shift in acoustic disturbance activity, travelling from the tropical Pacific down into northern New Zealand waters, and now pressing further into southern latitudes. This disruption is causing mass cetacean strandings, for example, the 20 cachalots (sperm whales) west of New Caledonia. 

Many of these atmospheric entries generate powerful low-frequency sonic booms that go undetected by ground observation, requiring high-altitude satellite data that often takes weeks to become accessible (a recent example being the September 23 Tasman Sea airburst). The juvenile Gray's beaked whales found near Dunedin were likely exposed to this ongoing regional acoustic pulse, driving deep-diving species out of offshore slope habitats into shallow coastal shelf waters. As this Southern Hemisphere influx continues, additional unrecorded airbursts in the South Pacific or Southern Ocean remain highly probable through the end of the year. Under these current atmospheric conditions, further strandings across vulnerable southern coastlines are not just possible—they are anticipated.

Photo: Gerard O'Brien  

Higher acoustic illumination trialed in Australia to reduce whale entanglements

Queensland has begun a five-week trial of new high-frequency acoustic alarms (“pingers”) on shark nets off Noosa Heads. The goal is to reduce whale entanglements, especially during the busy humpback migration along Australia’s east coast. Researchers from the University of Queensland are monitoring whale behaviour around the nets daily. Conservation groups remain skeptical, arguing that shark nets themselves are the core problem. The state government says the trial is part of its commitment to beach safety and modernising shark control technology. For the first time in 15 years, Queensland’s shark-net pingers are using new, higher-frequency signals. About 50,000 humpback whales migrate past the east coast each year; roughly 0.02% interact with shark nets. The alarms are designed to “acoustically illuminate” nets so whales detect and avoid them. The trial is a collaboration between the University of Queensland, the Queensland Government and Future Oceans (the alarm supplier). Researchers believe whales can hear these frequencies and may respond by moving away from the gear. Future Oceans says ongoing research may eventually allow scientists to decode whale communication, enabling even more targeted deterrent signals. UQ researchers are stationed at Noosa Heads 10 hours a day, observing: Whale movements, any interactions with shark nets and behavioural changes linked to the new alarms.