Fences proposed for penguins
One fence on the western arm and another on the port arm of Port Tarakohe have been recommended to help protect a growing colony of little blue penguins at the Golden Bay site.
Year-round access for ‘‘regular fishers’’ has also been recommended by a hearing panel, with the entry to be managed by Tasman District Council. A ban on dogs is also proposed as a protection measure for the little blues, known officially as little penguins or kororā.
The penguins, which are listed as a protected species under the Wildlife Act, are the world’s smallest, weighing in at about 1kg and standing just over 25cm tall.
Those recommendations, which are due to go to the council for consideration and a decision in May, are among several developed by the panel on Wednesday.
The two fences are smaller overall than a single larger fence with a locked gate, proposed by The Mōhua (Golden Bay) Blue Penguin Trust to control access to the nesting area during the breeding season, from June to February. That proposal from the trust attracted 109 submissions.
In response to a question on whether submitters agreed with the proposal to construct a fence, 68 selected yes.
When asked if they agreed with the proposal to control and restrict access to the penguin colony during the breeding season, 69 submitters selected yes.
Seven submitters presented oral submissions on Wednesday including Kelcey Chandler who said she believed education – not fences – was ‘‘the way to go’’.
‘‘I believe the penguins and people, with education, can cohabitate well together,’’ Chandler said. ‘‘It’s all about people working with nature, not locking people out or locking nature in.’’
The money should be put into education rather than fencing.
‘‘I mean, all of Golden Bay could be fenced off,’’ Chandler said. ‘‘It’s such a beautiful habitat.’’
Fellow anti-fence submitter Duncan Cavaye said he believed he spoke for the ‘‘silent majority’’.
‘‘I haven’t come across one person who doesn’t regard this [proposed fence] as an appropriation of an area from residents,’’ Cavaye said.
The previous breeding season for little blues had been successful, there was limited foot traffic in the area, residents had long looked after the birds and there had been little consideration for interim measures or other options to the proposed fence, he said.
‘‘I think, it’s complete overkill.’’ However, other oral submitters argued for the fence.
Trust member Angela Lees said there had been 50 incidents of nest box interference this year.
Visitors to the area were the problem not local residents, who were educated about the little blues, she said.
Monitoring on Monday revealed 106 adult penguins.
‘‘This time last year, there were only 25,’’ Lees said, attributing much of the increase to the installation of more nesting boxes.
Penguin biologist Professor John Cockrem said the experience at Oamaru with its kororā colony had shown that uncontrolled public access ‘‘does not work’’.
‘‘People will go to endless lengths to try to see penguins,’’ Cockrem said. ‘‘They’ll stand in the way of the birds, they’ll take flash photos, they’ll pick them up.’’
As Port Tarakohe became more well known, ‘‘in the absence of some control, people will be there all over the place’’.
Port Tarakohe was a regionally and nationally significant site for kororā and an important site for other wildlife such as the endangered reef herons and variable oystercatchers.
The knowledge gained from the work with the penguins at Port Tarakohe was valuable for education and conservation.
Cockrem highlighted legal action Forest & Bird is taking against the Department of Conservation over kororā on Waiheke Island.
‘‘That court action pivots on an affidavit that I wrote last week and that affidavit makes use of knowledge of penguins that comes from Port Tarakohe,’’ he said.
After hearing from submitters, the panel members visited the site and deliberated before developing the recommendations.