Whale rescue operation 'hugely successful'

Rescuers have saved 48 pilot whales and five dolphins that had beached themselves on Tasmania's King Island.

More than 150 people, including seasoned whale rescuers and dozens of King Island residents, worked tirelessly yesterday to save a pod of about 200 pilot whales and seven bottlenose dolphins.

The rescue operation had been "hugely successful", Department of Primary Industries spokesperson Rosemary Gales told ninemsn.

An aerial patrol of the island indicated the 48 whales released yesterday had safely headed out to sea.

"None of the whales were seen anywhere," Ms Gales said.

One sub-adult pilot whale, which had been reluctant to leave as winds increased and sea conditions deteriorated, had been taken back to the beach for the night, she said.

Rescuers were trying to release it today in quieter waters and had "high hopes" for its survival.

See more: Mass stranding in Tasmania

More than 115 whale carcasses remain on the beach and Chris Arthur from Tasmania's Parks and Wildlife Service said they were in negotiations with local governments to decide what would be done with the dead animals.

"There is no normal procedure … the preferred option is to leave the animals in situ," he said.

But exceptional circumstances would be considered because the area where the mass beaching had occurred was "close to a township and it is a beach that people utilise," Mr Arthur said.

All but 54 of the whales were still alive when the rescuers arrived yesterday morning.

Those that were alive were herded to deeper waters by rescuers using boats and personal watercraft.

"All animals that had stranded died although the live whales and dolphins that were milling in shallow water were successfully escorted back to sea," Mr Arthur said.

The latest beaching takes the total number of whales stranded around Tasmania in the past four months to nearly 400.

Read more: Beaching 'caused by human exploration'

The Department of Primary Industries was still waiting to hear back from the Commonwealth on whether any seismic activity was being done in the area that could have contributed to the cause of the mass beaching, according to Ms Gales.