A rāhui is in place for the Whakatāne heads after a drowning there last night.
Photo: Unsplash / Jackson Currie
People are being asked not to use or gather seafood from an area that stretches from the Whakatāne river mouth to near, but not including, West End Beach at Ōhope.
The rāhui, which will be lifted on Thursday, includes the popular Ōtarawairere Bay.
Ngāti Awa chair Joe Harawira said it was a mark of respect to the family of the person who drowned at the heads.
Two long-distance bus trips in the North Island are among today's new close contact locations of interest.
Seventy-four New Zealanders drowned last year, with the highest December death toll recorded since 1996.
Te Urewera and Lake Waikaremoana will reopen and welcome back visitors next month.
Fast-track consenting made available for Provincial Growth Fund projects could see work start on a $29.4 million marina in Whakatāne mid-year.
Police have identified the body of a man found on Sunday morning in Tauranga Harbour.
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