Cleanup efforts on the Coromandel beaches covered in Rena debris before Easter are concentrating on the more inaccessible beach areas this week.

The beaches being targeted by Braemar Howells are on the large parts of coastline isolated from the public and accessible only from the sea.

Tonnes of debris washed up on Coromandel beaches last week after huge swells – some as big as 12 metres – pounded the Rena wreck on Astrolabe Reef about 25km from Tauranga.

The Braemar-Unimar team deployed a barge and response vessels - with divers and swimmers - to the Coromandel early this week to collect debris from beaches accessible only via sea.

Braemar operations manager Neil Lloyd says up to 50 Braemar staff, with help from local resources including council staff and volunteers, are doing an ‘admirable job'.

'Beaches already cleared will be revisited and re-surveyed and Braemar will continue to have a presence in the Coromandel for the 'foreseeable future”, says Neil.

While the Coromandel remains a priority area, clean-up operations are also underway at other locations.

A tug boat is working around the Rena collecting debris surfacing from the wreck, and beach surveys and flotsam collection have been conducted at Matakana Island, Papamoa, Waihi Beach, Onemana, Bowentown and Te Kaha.

Debris collected since last week's weather battering includes timber, packets of noodles and plastic beads.

Neil says the amount of debris on Coromandel shorelines has been significantly reduced.

The continuation of heavy swells last weekend meant the clean-up focused on the shoreline with trailer-loads of debris removed from beaches.

The number of containers recovered from the Rena and brought to shore remains at 584. However, Braemar personnel are likely to soon have a better indication of the potential number of containers left on the Rena.

A high-definition underwater survey of the wreck is to be carried out after last week's intense battering caused the aft section of the vessel to slip further into the sea.

Motiti Island residents are being thanked for permitting the survey reference beacon to be set up on the island.