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Story: Dolphins

New Zealand distribution of the common dolphin

New Zealand distribution of the common dolphin

The common dolphin is found right around Northland to the Coromandel Peninsula, along the eastern coasts of both islands from Gisborne to Pegasus Bay; in Cook Strait and the Marlborough Sounds to Tasman Bay, and in smaller numbers along the West Coast of the South Island. They tend to move further offshore in winter.

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How to cite this page

Gerard Hutching, Dolphins – Common dolphins, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/4666/new-zealand-distribution-of-the-common-dolphin (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Gerard Hutching, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 September 2015.

Comments

Stuart Rendall (Butlers Swim with Dolphins)
25 July 2010
The Bay of Plenty has large numbers of coomon dolphins, we see them in pods of up to 400 off Tauranga and have 4 dolphin & whale watching operators in Tauranga and a couple in Whakatane.