$32 million research boost for Cawthron Institute

Nelson’s Cawthron Institute has been awarded about $20 million from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment 2017 Endeavour Round.

Cawthron Institute chief executive Charles Eason said the funding would be spread out over five years to fund two research programmes.

One of the proposals to be funded will test whether emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) pose a risk to New Zealand’s aquatic ecosystems and their potential to accumulate in the country’s food exports.

Eason said EOCs are natural or manufactured chemicals in household and personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and agrichemicals.

Programme leader Dr Louis Tremblay said regulators worldwide were ‘‘concerned about the impacts of EOCs in the environment and in our food’’.

The second proposal to be funded will allow research into the diagnosis, prediction and management of aquatic diseases affecting the aquaculture industry.

‘‘There is an urgent need to address these challenges to protect existing aquaculture production and to provide robust research that the industry can use to inform its decision making as it grows and diversifies,’’ Eason said.

The 2017 Endeavour Fund invests in research that has a high potential to transform New Zealand’s future economic performance, sustainability and integrity of the country’s environment.

Eason said the research that would be undertaken with the help of the funding would make ‘‘a real contribution to our understanding of key science’’.

Cawthron also received $12m in funding together with GNS Science to research the current and historic health of 380 New Zealand lakes.

The project ‘‘Our lakes’ health: past, present, future’’ will analyse lake sediments to understand how the health of 10 per cent of New Zealand’s lakes has changed over the past 1000 years.

But Dougherty said he’d been impressed with Nelson’s efforts in the tourism sector.

‘‘Things like the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary Trust, the conversation about whether there should there be a gondola to French Hill, there is some really interesting stuff that Nelson City Council is involved with.’’

While it’s a return home for Dougherty, he said in many ways he was coming in fresh after nearly a decade away.

‘‘I know there are still some staff at the Nelson City Council who were there when I left, there are one or two councillors.

I know the place, I know some of the personalities, but in a lot of ways I’m coming new into the role.’’

Dougherty was named in the top job yesterday, four months after Clare Hadley resigned.

Mayor Rachel Reese said the council was delighted to welcome him back.

‘‘Pat was a standout candidate and we warmly welcome him back to Nelson after nine years away.’’