Mayor defies advice on beaches

Andrew and Jane Williams walk their dog Rimu along Mairangi Bay. Photo / Herald on Sunday

No end is in sight to the poisoning problem plaguing Hauraki Gulf beaches, killing five dogs, and there are fears it may stretch oversummer.

While medical experts are working to clear up the problem, they admit they have no clear idea when the toxin problem could end. In the meantime, medical experts are advising people to keep dogs and children off the Hauraki Gulf beaches, advice that North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams has thumbed his nose at. He's encouraging people to get back to the beaches with their dogs.

While Williams does caution against people taking children to the beach, he has walked his own dog at Campbells Bay.

"I guess parents are going to be very wary" if considering taking young children to the beach this summer, he said.

"How do you safeguard children? I certainly wouldn't be taking children that are pre-school, children that are very difficult to control with what they touch and pick up."

Williams said he was concerned that the ongoing problems would start having a financial impact on shopping malls along the coast.

So far test results have shown that tetrodotoxin, a poison found in puffer fish, has been found in sea slugs and the vomit of one dead dog.

Auckland Regional medical officer of health Dr Sheryl Jury said the public was still advised to keep off beaches in the Hauraki Gulf after the death of another dog last week. The dog died after exercising at Stanmore Bay in the Whangaparaoa.

Cawthron Institute algae specialist Paul McNabb said the toxin can kill a human in as little as 20 minutes.