Waikanae estuary is under threat
■ Continued from Page 10 DOC will continue to work with other agencies on catchmentbased solutions to the problems of sedimentation and runoff which unfortunately afflict many New Zealand estuarine environments.
The difference is this place has the protection many others desperately need.
Ka¯ piti mayor K Gurunathan believes minister should heed call for inquiry into status of ‘dying’ Waikanae Estuary:
I urge Conservation Minister the Hon Eugenie Sage to respond to the calls by the Ka¯ piti Whitebaiters Network (KWN) and Waikanae Estuary Care Group (WECG) for an inquiry into the degrading ecological state of the estuary.
While the two groups are diametrically opposed to the issue of vehicles being allowed into the environmentally sensitive Waikanae Estuary Scientific Reserve, they are both united in wanting urgent and long-term action to arrest and improve the state of the Estuary. KWN wants the ban on vehicles to be lifted for them during the fishing season. WECG wants that ban monitored and enforced.
It’s well known that previous governments have underfunded DOC. While DOC has done a sterling job in stretching the funding, gaps in service delivery are inevitable and the Waikanae Estuary, I believe, is a victim of this underfunding.
In a letter to the Minister dated August 28, the new chairman of the WECG Robin Gunston said the fragile estuary ecology is under threat from increased recreational use, including people using vehicles, dog walkers and whitebaiters. He said the low numbers of DOC rangers meant most got away with the damage they caused. He wants the Minister to support the formation of honorary rangers with powers to issue infringement notices.
Mr Gunston has told me he supports any call for an inquiry from the Ministers office.
The call for an inquiry was made in a September 9 letter to the Minister by the spokesperson for the newly-formed Ka¯ piti Whitebaiters Network, Chris Turver. He has launched a stinging attack on DOC for what he claims has been the historical neglect of the estuary to the point that “it is in fact dying”. He has used the 2015 regional council’s scientific field research in the estuary by Wriggle Coastal Management which identified a list of adverse effects on the estuary ecology. He said DOC was misleading the public about the pristine condition of the estuary, and blaming vehicles and whitebaiters seemed an easier option than the more serious issue of an estuary ecology struggling to survive.
I welcome Mr Turver’s call for an inquiry, and support for the Minister to initiate one, but his campaign position to allow vehicles to drive into the ecologically sensitive scientific reserve is an oxymoron when he is also wanting to protect longterm ecology of the Estuary.