Fiordland Marine Guardians chairwoman Rebecca McLeod yesterday called on the Otago Regional Council to develop a partnership with Environment Southland and Environment Canterbury to protect the South Island’s southern coastline from unwanted pests.
It was only a matter of time before the number of pests increased in the southern coastal environment and the council, should adopt a prevention-first strategy, she said.
As with land-based pests, controlling marine pests relied on a principle of being a good neighbour, Dr McLeod said.
In this case, she said, Otago needed to step up its work on marine pests to keep up with neighbouring regions, including Environment Southland.
“This isn’t just about Otago,” Dr McLeod said.
Otago regional councillors heard submissions to their 2021-31 long-term plan in Dunedin, Queenstown and via videoconferencing in the first day of two days of hearings yesterday.
Regional collectives were becoming the norm in New Zealand because there was a lack of appetite from central government to create a national approach, Dr McLeod told councillors.
The most encouraging collective was the Top of the North partnership made up of Northland, Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, and Waikato regional councils, and Auckland Council, supported by the Department of Conservation and Biosecurity NZ, Dr McLeod said.
These councils were sharing resources, aligning efforts, developing a consistency of messaging, and developing tools to reduce the spread of marine pests and raise awareness, she said.
A control programme for the invasive seaweed undaria was under way in Fiordland.
“All of these marine pests we are talking about are only one boat ride away from being in your area,” she said.
