Invasive mangrove seedlings have to go, says a reader. Photo / File
It was distressing reading in the New Zealand Herald (News, February 25) that mangrove seedlings had been deliberately planted in the Ahuriri Estuary in Hawke's Bay.
As the DoC biodiversity senior ranger Denise Fastier says, "The introduction of mangroves would be potentially catastrophic and devastate this ecosystem which is home
to both endangered and resident birds."
In the Bay of Plenty, many volunteers in partnership with Bay of Plenty Regional Council work hard each year to keep and maintain open water spaces in our estuaries in which both resident and migratory birds need to feed.
Open water spaces can only be maintained by removing invasive mangrove seedlings in order to ensure open water spaces.
Such a programme has seen an increase in shore birds in Welcome Bay.
