Claim anchors causing damage to coast

WELLINGTON: Research shows the anchors of large ships are damaging the seabed at busy ports around the world, which could be doing vast amounts of damage to coastal ecosystem.

Researchers from Niwa, Auckland University and Auckland University of Technology have used sonars and shiptracking data to document the effects of anchoring outside Picton.

Niwa marine geophysicist Dr Sally Watson said large areas of the Picton coast were scoured and gouged by both anchors and chains.

She said this common practice of anchoring could, in the future be a major driver of habitat degradation in the coastal environment.

‘‘It predicted to quadruple by 2050, so this is a problem now, but it is going to be a problem for us in the future,’’ she said.

She likened the impact of anchoring to that of the effects of bottomtrawling. — RNZ