Huge response to HarbourCare hui

It was standing room only at the Whangateau Hall on October 5, when Whangateau HarbourCare held a community hui on the current state of the estuary and surrounds.

Well over 120 people crammed into the tiny hall to hear from scientists, academics, council staff, wildlife experts and local residents on how the harbour system is responding to a range of changes and threats.

The meeting was opened by long-time Whangateau resident and kaumatua Bruce Davies, who said he had seen a lot of changes since he was born in 1948. Fish and birdlife had been abundant when he was growing up and there were so many pipis “you didn’t even have to get your feet wet to collect them”.

“The fish life was fantastic, the birdlife was fantastic,” he said. “And there were no mangroves then. You don’t see as much now.”

There were presentations on water and sediment monitoring, the local bird population, research on specific fish and mollusc species, and even how two former landfill sites, at Ti Point and Ashton Roads, were being monitored.

Speakers stressed the importance of Whangateau Harbour as a distinct and far-reaching ecosystem and warned that, even though it was in pretty good shape generally, there were plenty of signs that it was under pressure and needed protection.

Marine science and aquaculture scientist Conrad Pilditch said damage or effects were often difficult to spot until a tipping point was reached.

“Water is about cumulative effects,” he said. “Change is not linear and it’s difficult to track.”

As an example, he said even a small increase in the amount of mud flowing into a harbour could have wide-reaching effects.

“And New Zealand does a world-leading job in delivering sediments to our coastal systems,” he added.

Leigh marine lab director Professor Simon Thrush said a fundamental change was required to reverse the downward shift in the health of the harbour and the wider Hauraki Gulf, because current management methods weren’t working.

“You need to allow the estuary to have a voice,” he said. “We need to flip the switch and focus on restoration and regeneration.

“Every single thing we do has to be about the restoration of the marine environment – whether that’s picking up a piece of plastic when you’re walking on the beach, keeping your cat in at night to save the shorebirds, where you’re investing in pension funds, all who you vote for – more do-ey, less hui.”

The meeting heard from marine biologist Karen Tricklebank that while there had been some recovery in the Whangateau cockle population since its almost complete collapse in 2009, there were still no large, adult cockles present.

She said while research was still ongoing, it could be because the loss of the cockle beds had changed the character of the harbour itself.

“In large numbers, cockles stabilise the seabed, so a sudden loss could shift the ecosystem to a different state, which could have implications for cockles and for other species as well,” she said.

Biologist Jess Campbell talked about her work observing hundreds of juvenile snapper that come to the harbour to live off a reef near Horseshoe Island as they mature.

She said in the last couple of years, she had noticed a lot more jetskis and boats in the harbour and had observed fewer snapper during that time.

“When the boats were moving at high speed, the snapper stopped feeding and fled for the reef as they would when a predator was present, so that could be having a major impact,” she said.

Campbell suggested a speed limit close to the reef could help.

Whangateau HarbourCare catchment facilitator Alicia Bullock said after the hui that, together with Leigh Marine Lab, Manuhiri Kaitiaki Charitable Trust and support from Auckland Council, the group was aiming to develop a community-led action plan to protect and restore the harbour.

“The hui was a vital first step, bringing the community together to learn about some of the major issues facing the harbour, and giving them the opportunity to share their own vital local knowledge and aspirations,” she said.

“It was evident that there is real motivation to act together. We’ll be taking an evidence-based approach to prioritise and implement actions to support the health of the harbour, and therefore the wellbeing of the community.”