Te Rāwhiti kuia Makarita Howard and kaumatua Hone Martin are united in their wish to get rid of caulerpa’s threat to the Bay of Islands. Photo / Susan Botting
Te Rāwhiti kuia Makarita Howard and kaumatua Hone Martin are united in their wish to get rid of caulerpa’s threat to the Bay of Islands. Photo / Susan Botting
Boaties are now banned from anchoring across more than 1000 hectares of Bay of Islands moana, as the Government and mana whenua move to fight the growing threat of one of the world’s most invasive marine seaweeds.
The Government’s first mainland exotic caulerpa anchoring ban, known as a controlled area notice (CAN), started from 11.59pm last night along with a mana whenua rāhui, from yesterday morning.
Fishing of all sorts, diving and kaimoana gathering are also banned.
Biosecurity New Zealand deputy director-general Stuart Anderson said caulerpa, at differing densities, had been found across 200ha in the Bay of Islands.
That is up from 16ha identified as having caulerpa on May 31 and found after further surveillance.
Exotic caulerpa was first found in Omākiwi Cove on May 3.
Niwa and Northland Regional Council (NRC) have done more than 150 surveillance dives in the Bay of Islands to date.
”We are currently developing wider Northland surveillance with [NRC],” Anderson said. Fragments of caulerpa moving around are a major caulerpa spread culprit. Anchoring is one of the major ways caulerpa is spread.
A piece of caulerpa the size of a freckle can cover an area the size of a rugby field in the right conditions.
The caulerpa anchoring ban area is bounded by Whau Point in the south-east across the Albert Channel through to the south-eastern tip of Te Ao Island, then across to the eastern shoreline of Poroporo Island (near Urupukapuka Island) and then south-west towards the northern tip of Tokatokahau Point. It covers up to the high tide area.
Mana whenua, response partners NRC and NIWA and community members were all part after the rāhui ceremony at Bay of Islands’ Omākiwi Cove beach. Photo / Susan Botting
“The CAN area has been designed to both reflect the science in terms of the continuing risk while at the same time ensuring the boundaries are easy to understand,” Anderson said.
Under the new CAN, it is illegal to remove any marine organisms including fish, seaweed, crayfish or shellfish from the zone – meaning fishing for any species in the area is not allowed. This includes spearfishing, crayfish, kina and other shellfish gathering, net fishing and drift fishing from any type of vessel.
No anchoring is allowed in the controlled area other than for a few permitted activities including scientific research or where residents are reliant on a vessel for regular transport. Biosecurity New Zealand permits are needed for this.
Details of the controlled area. Graphic / NZME
Emergency anchoring will be allowed in some situations such as to shelter from weather.
Diving in the area is also banned.
Anderson said two species of exotic caulerpa had been found in the Omākiwi Cove area: caulerpa brachypus and Caulerpa parvifolia. The amount found suggests the seaweed has been in the area for a number of seasons.
Patukeha and Ngāti Kuta hapū have declared a rāhui over the same area as the Government’s CAN, preventing boat anchoring, fishing, kaimoana harvesting and diving.
The hapū are working with the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI’s) Biosecurity New Zealand and NRC after the discovery of a substantial quantity of exotic caulerpa.
Mana whenua spokesperson Viki Heta says the Bay of Islands caulerpa rahui will stay in place indefinitely, until the risk of caulerpa spread has been eliminated.
Photo / Susan Botting
The rāhui ceremony was led by Patukeha and Ngāti Kuta hapū at Omākiwi beach on Monday morning.
Kaumatua Hone Martin, who led the rahui ceremony, said the community fight would be a challenging one against caulerpa, te ngārara o te moana or the maggot of the sea.
Hapū spokesperson Viki Heta said mana whenua and the partners were working together to formalise a response plan to the biosecurity threat. The rāhui was one of several methods to be applied to the affected area to reduce the risk of spreading caulerpa to the rest of the Bay of Islands.
She said the rāhui was a traditional Māori method applied to manage activities and would work in synergy with the CAN applied by MPI.
”There is a lot at stake here and exotic caulerpa has the potential to devastate shellfish beds and fish habitats. If this happens, there will be no kaimoana for future generations,” Heta said.
”We must work collaboratively - hapū, Government, community and businesses - to take control of this threat. It will require cooperation and organisation.”
Heta said the rāhui would stay in place indefinitely until the risk of caulerpa spread had been eliminated.
”We are calling everyone to participate in upholding the rāhui and the controlled area notice restrictions to ensure we are united in our efforts to stop the spread of this pest seaweed.”
If you see or suspect caulerpa, report it through 0800 80 99 66 or by completing the online reporting form at www.report.mpi.govt.nz Full information about exotic caulerpa and the new legal controls is at www.biosecurity.govt.nz/caulerpa.
■ Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
