Bare hands only for mangrove removal

A 20-year permit has been issued to allow removal of mangrove seedlings from Whangamata Harbour, but anyone who is caught pulling them out with anything but their hands should beware.

Environment Waikato issued the permit in response to an application by a group of Whangamata residents who said mangroves were spreading and clogging the harbour.

The permit stipulates that mangrove seedlings be removed only from certain areas of the foreshore and that they be pulled out by hand.

The regional council confirmed yesterday that "hand removal" did not include removal by hand with garden implements - a condition that has dismayed Coromandel MP Sandra Goudie.

The National MP, who supported locals chopping down mangroves in the harbour in an illegal protest last year, said Environment Waikato had not considered the fact that most mangrove removal would be done by elderly residents.

"You'd think [the regional council] would have thought about the physical aspects and made some allowance for using a garden hoe," she said.

But Environment Waikato said the group of residents who made the permit application, Whangamata Harbourcare, had not asked for provision for implements.

"The applicant applied for hand- pulling of seedlings," said the manager of coastal programmes, Hugh Keane. "There wasn't any proposal to use machinery or implements."

Asked what would happen to anyone caught removing mangrove seedlings with a hoe or garden fork, Mr Keane said: "It would not be in line with consent conditions. An investigation would be launched."

The granting of the permit comes after 120 protesters used chainsaws to illegally clear a mangrove patch the size of two football fields in September.

At the time, protester Jack Wells said they were taking the action out of fear of losing the harbour and because it had cost ratepayers up to $17,000 for resource consent to clear a small area two years before.

Many of those in favour of mangrove removal also support the controversial Whangamata Marina, saying dredging for the now-vetoed project would control the spread of the plants into waterways.

But Environment Waikato, conservationists and iwi groups have argued that the mangroves play an important role in the estuarine ecosystem, preventing coastal erosion and providing a unique habitat for fish, birds and insects.

After the permit application, Environment Waikato appointed three independent commissioners to act on its behalf.

The commissioners settled on a 20-year permit, saying it was necessary to allow ongoing seedling removal.

But they noted that Environment Waikato had proposed a 10-year term, and other parties, including the Department of Conservation and iwi groups, had sought shorter terms until a wider harbour management plan was developed.

Environment Waikato chairwoman Jenni Vernon said their decision was pragmatic while sensitive to affected parties.

"[It] provides certainty to the Whangamata community that they will have a 20-year right to remove mangrove seedlings in order to hold the line and prevent the further spread of mangroves into the harbour area," she said.

Mrs Goudie, who stacked but did not chop down mangroves at the September protest, said she looked forward to pulling out some seedlings now that it was legal. "It'll be wonderful to have a little ceremonial tugging."


Culling of estuary shrub

Environment Waikato will allow hand removal of mangrove seedlings from a significant part of the harbour foreshore, but has barred removal of seedlings from mature mangrove areas or specified conservation sites such as in the upper harbour, as Whangamata Harbourcare had requested.

Seedlings must be pulled out by hand; only those with a single stem can be removed.

Some iwi groups opposed the permit application on the grounds that waahi tapu (sacred sites) exist both around the edge of the harbour and on the foreshore, but the commissioners found there was nothing currently preventing people from walking through those areas.