Most of the 1.5 tonnes of heavy fuel oil that spilled into Tauranga harbour a week ago is now believed to have been contained and collected.

That's the message from Bay of Plenty Regional Council Regional On-Scene Commander Peter Buell today.

Oil at the Bridge Marina is being cleaned off, rock by rock.

The focus is now on what council call more detailed work, such as cleaning oil caught between rocks at Tauranga Bridge Marina and daily rechecking of shorelines.

Peter believes about 95 per cent of the oil has now been contained and collected, and 21 tonnes of contaminated debris has been collected and bagged for disposal.

'More sorbent booms have been deployed at the Port and a large amount of oiled seagrass has been removed,” says Peter.

'At the Bridge Marina, cleaning of the rock wall continues, and sorbent booms and spill pads have been deployed, checked and replaced as needed.

'The oil is contained at the Marina with sorbent booms, but there are a number of oiled boats which will need to be cleaned over the next few days.

'Most of the oil from the water surface has now been captured. There's still work to be done, and this will be time consuming.”

Conditions and tides are expected to be favourable today for finishing cleaning up residual oil clumps at Bridge Marina, Pilot Bay and Sandy Bay. The Mount beach and Shelley Bay are almost clear, and work has finished at the worst affected areas of Maungatapu and Motuopuhi Island.

Work is continuing at Matakana Island with local iwi.

No more oiled wildlife has been found, although there have been reports of lightly oiled birds around the harbour. They will be left to clean themselves as the amount of oil is unlikely to harm them.

Any oiled wildlife found should be reported to the Department of Conservation on: 0800 362 468.

Boaties are reminded not to clean their boats or gear with any aggressive chemicals as this may cause more contamination. Please contact your marina operator for advice.

The Regional Council has provided pads, disposal bags and skips and protective gloves at the marina to help boaties keep their berths clean.

Meanwhile Mobil has set up two numbers - for boat owners looking for advice, call: 0800 895 011. For boat owners that want to make insurance claims to Mobil, contact: 0800 692 524.

People should stay away from oil wash-up areas. Oil slicks or oiled vessels should be reported to the Regional Council's Pollution Hotline on: 0800 884 883 or via: info@boprc.govt.nz