The Department of Conservation in Gisborne says a tag recovered from a dead seal on a beach north of the city has provided valuable information about how far they can travel.
Residents of the small settlement of Whangara, where the film Whale Rider was shot, found the mammal.
DoC biodiversity ranger Jamie Quirk says the tag showed it was a male about 18 months old and was tagged at Wekakura Point, just north of Westport, in late January last year.
Mr Quirk says tagging helps DoC gain a greater understanding of the distribution and movements of seals around the New Zealand coast.
