Waka crew pulls plastic from harbour
A waka conducting New Zealand’s first plastic trawl has found micro plastics are accumulating in the waters around Kiwi shores.
The Te Matau a Ma¯ui pulled up plastics during its voyage from Napier, reaching as far as Cape Palliser, as part of the Waka Odyssey before being turned back by Gita. Waka captain Raihania Tipuki believed the trawl was the first of its kind conducted in New Zealand waters, and a second waka, Hinemoana, would complete the research in Wellington Harbour on today.
Roughly 18 pieces of plastic were captured during one trawl of Hawke’s Bay Harbour, and that did not include nano plastics, which would be counted from samples in a laboratory.
‘‘That’s just a tiny part, if you imagine how much is floating around Hawke’s Bay.’’
The findings were dwarfed by what the team found on Welling- ton’s Oriental Beach. In three onemetre transects the team found 230 macro plastics, 146 micro plastics, and 2412 nurdles – an industrial plastic waste that can carry concentrated levels of toxins that enter the marine food chain.
Speaking before the weekend’s beach survey, Tipuki said one of the researchers on the waka had their own blood tested, and found it contains chemicals contained in plastics. Tipuki said the lack of research into the prevalence and effect of plastics on New Zealand coastlines illustrated how far Kiwis still had to go to dealing with the plastic issue.
‘‘We need to be more forward thinking about all environmental issues.’’
The Waka Odyssey, which concluded with a ceremony on Wellington’s waterfront with the arrival of four double-hulled waka and roughly 30 smaller canoes apart of the New Zealand Festival, provided an excellent opportunity to draw attention to a growing issue.