Burkhart Fisheries Ltd in big dig at Ward Beach

Ward, had yet to trial launching their main boat from the site. He hoped there were no objections to the work and expected the environmental impact to be ‘‘insignificant’’, he said.

The crayfishers drew the concern of Forest and Bird when they used bulldozers to drag boats along the beach to a launch site in December, and the Environment Court issued an injunction order to stop the bulldozers. Threatened bird species such as the banded dotterel and the variable oystercatcher were nesting on Ward Beach.

Burkhart Fisheries paid an ecologist to create an ecological management plan, in the hopes it would persuade an Environment Court judge to amend the injunction order. The plan included measures such as having a bird spotter accompany the bulldozers and boats with binoculars.

The Marlborough District Council’s scientists approved the plan and went back to the Environment Court to have the injunction order amended, but Judge John Hassan refused.

He agreed with Forest and Bird’s submission that amending the injunction would effectively sanction an illegal act, as the vehicle movements breached the Wairau Awatere Resource Management Plan.

Burkhart said on Tuesday the company decided to ‘‘flag’’ its appeal of the Environment Court decision to ban Burkhart Fisheries using temporary beach access to launch crayfishing boats further up the coast.

‘‘We never really wanted to use the beach,’’ Burkhart said.

‘‘While we believe every New Zealander has the right to drive a vehicle on the beach, it is not the best solution for us.’’