‘The scallop beds are stuffed’
For more than 50 years, Sue Neureuter has been snorkelling and freediving in the Hauraki Gulf each summer, accumulating an intimate knowledge of the richly diverse life that flourishes under the sea.
Her family have been owners and custodians of the Noises Islands, a cluster of small islands around just north of Waiheke Island, for four generations.
In recent years, the delicate eco-system around the Noises Islands that supports scallop beds, horse mussels, finger sponges and rhodolith beds (a coral-ike algae) has began to wither and die.
‘‘The scallop beds are stuffed,’’ says Neureuter.
Recreational fishers dredging the ocean floor for seafood have had a similar impact as would a bulldozer through a rainforest, Neureuter says.
Except that the fishers can’t see the damage they’re doing.
The seabed currently has no protection from the boaties who come to explore the Noises, drop their anchors, and gradually chip away at the seabed.
Neureuter is campaigning to have the area declared a marine reserve. The longevity of her connection to the Noises group has given her a unique insight into the health of the ocean, and she is determined to see it restored to previous health. She’s at pains to point out that it’s not about blaming anyone for the damage that has been done, but including all groups on finding the solution.
‘‘We’re not trying to vilify fishermen. We’ve only got one
Hauraki Gulf.
‘‘We love fishing and we love our seafood. The question is how do we look after what we’ve got so we look after our fishing stock and in the future say we’re sustainable.’’
Neureuter says it’s not too late to restore the seabed around the Noises to its previous glory.
‘‘We’re all guilty, so we better all start looking after it and talking to one another so we can take care of it.’’