A second Hector's dolphin has been found dead on the West Coast, a week after one was found further south

This morning a member of the public contacted the Department of Conservation after finding a dead dolphin at Rapahoe Beach, north of Greymouth.

DOC Aquatic Director Elizabeth Heeg says it was a calf, less than a metre long.

She says it appears to have died recently and there were no visible marks to indicate cause of death.

On February 18, DOC was contacted by a person who found a dead Hector's dolphin calf at Mikonui Beach, south of Hokitika.