A boat's dirty engine sparked an emergency callout to Kapiti Island today after a witness mistakenly thought smoke was coming from the conservation area.
Acting Shift Commander Mark Oliver of central police communications said a member of the public called the Fire Service when they thought they saw smoke at the southern end of the island.
The coastguard and police units investigated the sighting.
"But in actual fact some boaties had gone out with a dirty engine near the island, and when they turned the boat on, a puff of smoke came out," Mr Oliver said.
