Freshly leaked oil from the ill-fated MV Rena has reached Mayor Island, a popular Bay of Plenty Marine reserve off Tauranga in New Zealand. A team of wildlife experts spent Monday night on the island to make sure that damage could be as minimal as possible.

Wildlife veterinarian Helen McConnell said Mayor Island is a "hot spot for biodiversity," which means the site should be protected from intruders and environmental disasters. It is home to a significant number of rare and endangered species, including seabirds.

The number of recovered wildlife had risen to 357, while 1370 have been found dead in the aftermath of Rena's collision with Astrolabe Reef.

So far, 645 tonnes of oil have been removed from the cargo vessel, leaving about 700 tonnes still onboard, in four different tanks.

"This figure (645 tonnes) is the amount pumped off in total since pumping operations began," said Maritime New Zealand salvage unit manager Bruce Anderson.

Anderson said Tuesday the two booster pumps installed on Sunday afternoon had increased the speed of pumping rate from the port tank, and the salvage efforts continue to extract oil from the submerged starboard tank.

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