Worsening weather and sea conditions stopped the removal of containers from the Rena on Wednesday.
Six containers were removed from the stricken cargo ship on Tuesday and salvors are continuing to remove oil from the number three hold.
Maritime New Zealand says small amounts of meat have washed up on Coromandel and Bay of Plenty beaches and a metallic sheen has been spotted 3km from the ship and moving south.
Winds of 15 to 25 knots are forecast to last until Saturday, bringing waves of about 2.5 metres.
