Firm cleared of endangering wildlife

THE Department of Conservation has cleared a Dunedin business of endangering wildlife while doing sand extraction work at Tomahawk Beach last year.

Department of Conservation coastal Otago operations manager Clement Lagrue said this week the department had withdrawn an infringement notice it initially filed against Nash & Ross following an incident involving a sea lion mother and pup during work at the beach in February last year.

‘‘After carefully considering the circumstances of the incident and the relevant legislation, we decided that enforcement was not required and instead Doc would work with Nash & Ross, the [Dunedin City Council] and the community to ensure risks to sea lions from the activity are managed appropriately.

‘‘There is no evidence that the sea lions were injured in the incident,’’ Dr Lagrue said.

Tensions ran high on the morning of February 26 last year when Nash & Ross staff took sand from Tomahawk Beach for permitted commercial purposes and flood protection.

Angry beachgoers accused the company of endangering a threatened New Zealand sea lion and its pup that were in the area.

A heated exchange between the company’s workers and members of the public followed.

Both Doc and police were called. Dr Lagrue said the company had shown a genuine desire to prevent a similar situation in the future.

Since the incident, the company had engaged with Doc before any sand extraction work to discuss the work and whether any sea lions had been seen or were breeding in the area.

Nash & Ross managing director Steve Ross said he was pleased with the ‘‘common sense’’ resolution.

‘‘I think Doc recognised that we didn’t actually do anything wrong and they were a bit overzealous in what they were trying to do, but we have been working with them, and now they are more than happy.’’

New Zealand Sea Lion Trust chairwoman Jordana Whyte said the trust was relatively comfortable with the outcome and believed compliance measures were ‘‘really, a last resort’’.

‘‘After the sand had settled, it was pretty clear that noone was interested in repeating what happened,’’ she said.