Oil on beaches thought from spill

Small globules of black oil washing up on Kapiti Coast beaches are believed to have come from an oil spill off the Taranaki coast a month ago.

The Greater Wellington Regional Council has received reports beaches have been lightly oiled between Mana Marina, Waikanae, Peka Peka, Te Horo Beach, and Otaki, over a distance of about 25 nautical miles.

Greater Wellington Regional Harbourmaster Captain Mike Pryce, who is responsible for the council's response to regional marine oil spills, said the small globules are around the high tide mark of beaches.

"To avoid being oiled the best thing to do is not to walk in the high tide area or let your dogs wander there," he said.

It is suspected the oil has been washed up from a crude oil spill of around 1,000 litres off the Taranaki coast about a month ago and some of that oil has drifted to the Kapiti Coast beaches because of recent winds and currents. Samples of the blobs have been obtained to identify the source.

"We would stress that the amount of oil that we've seen so far is very small and from the evidence we have seen so far we believe the oil will biodegrade naturally," Mr Pryce said. "However, if we become aware of concentrated areas of tarballs, we can consider doing a local clean-up."

- NZHERALD STAFF