Northland’s marine pollution problem
Northland’s seaways are becoming a catchment for millions of pieces of trash - not only creating large scale pollution and killing marine life, but affecting the seafood we harvest to eat.
Around 88,900 litres (711,200 pieces) of rubbish was recovered from Northlands beaches, bays and upper harbours in the two month period from October to December 2016 by Sea Cleaners, a charity group who, with the help of volunteers, pull millions of litres of rubbish from the sea.
It is estimated around 80 per cent of marine pollution comes from land.
Last week Sea Cleaners founder Hayden Smith gave a presentation to the Whangarei District Council about the need for a further $150,000 so the group can expand its work.
He said in 2014 a one month trial funded by Northland Regional Council saw 40,000 litre of rubbish collected in Northland.
Since then NRC have funded Sea Cleaners for 2015/16 and 2016/17 at the rate of $28,750 a year.
In 2015 more than 1000 volunteers collected 330,000 pieces of rubbish from the Whangarei Harbour in just over a month.
A similar amount was collected from the Northland East Coast over the same period.
‘‘We should be doing more than a spring clean, we need to work all year round,’’ Smith says.
It costs around $25,000 per month to fund the team to staff, maintain and operate three boats one of which was donated by Whangarei Businessman Tony DaviesColley.
Volunteers include Whangarei Boys High School and Bream Bay College students, Parihaka Waka Ama Club, the Bay of Islands community and the NZ Navy.
All the rubbish is brought to Northland Waste’s centre in Whangarei and Marsden Cove Marina also provides waste disposal options for the boat crew.
Smith says he would like to see rubbish grates put on all storm water drains.