Police have this morning recovered a body of a man in his 50's near the Miramar Wharf.

Detective Inspector Paul Basham, head of the Wellington City CIB says a member of the public alerted Police this morning, after discovering the body.

"The Wellington Police Maritime Unit responded in the Police launch Lady Elizabeth III, and retrieved the body a short time later."

"Police are now conducting a scene examination and are treating this as an unexplained death until we have further information."

Detective Inspector Basham says Police are yet to identify the deceased person.

A post-mortem will be carried out on the deceased person in due course.

Police enquiries this afternoon will focus on identifying the deceased and conducting other background enquiries.