A concerned member of the public reported the incident, which happened around 12 pm on Friday, January 3.
DOC Hauraki Operations Manager Avi Holzapfel is dismayed by the report of harm to wildlife.
“It’s extremely frustrating and distressing to hear about this kind of wilful mistreatment of wildlife,” says Avi. “We’re very grateful to the person who reported this to us for their continued assistance.
“So far, we have images of the vessel alleged to be involved, and have made enquiries with local marinas and databases to identify its owner.
One of the boats sought to aid the investigation. Image: Supplied
“We are keen to speak with people on board two vessels pictured seen in the area at the time, one of which bears the name ‘Dad & Me’, and any other members of the public who may have witnessed the incident.”
If anyone has more information they can provide about this incident, please contact the DOC HOT line on 0800 362 468 or wildlifecrime@doc.govt.nz, quoting CLE Incident CLE-8275.
Many seabirds are classified as absolutely protected under the Wildlife Act 1953. Hunting or killing absolutely protected wildlife can result in penalties of up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $100,000, or both.
Update: Police have now spoken to people on the other vessel, and are confident they are not involved and do not know those on the suspected offending vessel.
The juvenile/subadult dolphin, which was travelling with a fully grown dolphin, was first reported to DOC’s hotline on 29 December.
DOC Operations Manager, Kirsty Prior, says the team located the dolphin and its companion at 12:50 pm yesterday.
“The disentanglement team were able to get a working line with grapnel and floats on the animal. This allowed the team to bring the dolphin close to the boat and work carefully with specialist knives to cut it free by 1:54 pm.
“We monitored the area for several hours and can confirm the dolphin is free of the entanglement and swimming strongly.
“It will now likely take time to heal and rest after before moving out of the area. Please give the dolphins space during this time.
“We would like to thank everyone who called the hotline, the public were vital in helping our team do their job successfully”, says Kirsty.
Jocelin Friend from Te Kawerau ā Maki welcomed the invitation to be on the vessel and see the disentanglement take place.
“Te Wai Roa ō Kahu and Rangitōpuni awa are our ancestral waterways. Our duty as kaitiaki is to ensure our taonga species are treated with utmost care.
“I was impressed with how the team worked together swiftly, carefully and in respect of tikanga Māori to safely free the dolphin”, says Jocelin.
A reminder to everyone to stay vigilant on the water and keep their distance from marine mammals and to report any sightings to 0800 DOC HOT (0800 36 24 68).
DOC Operations Manager Whakatipu, David Butt, says the temporary site will be convenient and closer to most of the district’s extensive visitor network.
“These two weeks are some of the busiest we get for visitors,” says David.
“Glenorchy is a gateway to the area’s most popular day and multi-day hikes including the Routeburn Track, Greenstone/Caples Track and Dart/Rees Valley, making it a busy place for visitors wanting to get out and experience nature.
“We always want to figure out the best way to serve Whakatipu visitors, so we’re also keen to see how well the temporary site is received.
“The visitor centre in Queenstown (50 Stanley St) will be closed during this period, as staff will be based in Glenorchy. There will be notices on the doors to advise people of the temporary Glenorchy location and contact phone numbers for enquiries.”
The pop-up visitor centre will be run from the former Glenorchy Café on Mull Street and provide DOC information and services.
People checking in for the Routeburn Great Walk from 13-26 January will need to do so when they arrive in Glenorchy.
Drive-in movies bring summer fun to Rangiora | Environment Canterbury
Date:
Drive, walk or cycle into the south bank of the Ashley Rakahuri River in Rangiora for your choice of two movie screenings:
Saturday 18 January, 2pm — Minions: The Rise of Gru
The origin story of how the world’s greatest supervillain first met his iconic Minions, forged cinema’s most despicable crew and faced off against the most unstoppable criminal force ever assembled. This film has a PG rating with a warning note for violence.
Saturday 18 January at 6pm — The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.
This film has a PG rating with a warning note for battle violence and fantasy horror.
Cyclists and pedestrians can enter the event space from the Break Bank carpark or via the Rakahuri Trail.
Tickets cost $20 per car, or $5 per pedestrian or cyclist. There will be no gate sales.
A range of food options will be available on site, and you are welcome to bring your own food. Please remember to take all rubbish with you when you leave.
For those in cars, movie audio will be available through either your car radio or an app on your smartphone, with details provided on-screen before the movie begins.
A reserved space with speakers will be set up at the front of the area for those who want to watch the movie on a picnic rug or camp chair.
The screen will be elevated to allow for good viewing for the whole area.
The movies will go ahead rain or shine, but if the event is cancelled for any reason, tickets will be refunded.
Please note this is an alcohol-free, smoke-free and pet-free event.
Ashley Rakahuri Regional Park
Find out more about the recreational spaces in Ashley Rakahuri Regional Park, including an exercise trail and areas for fishing, swimming, gamebird hunting, walking, cycling and picnicking.
The bug bags provide a short-term habitat for macroinvertebrates, bugs, worms, and snails that may have otherwise drifted past.
Dr Issie Barrett from the Waterways Centre and Matt Stanford, Enviroschools Selwyn facilitator, worked with Glentunnel, Hororata, Greendale, Springston, and Leeston Enviroschools to take a baseline water quality assessment at each site using the types of macroinvertebrates they found.
“There are lots of different types of bugs that can live in the river and what we want to see is lots of diversity, because that’s going to be the healthiest river,” said Issie.
She explained that certain bugs were indicators of water quality – for instance, stoneflies are intolerant to pollution, so high numbers of stoneflies indicated better water quality. On the flip side, high numbers of invertebrates like snails and worms would suggest that the waterway might be polluted.
The big question at sites where we don’t currently find the sensitive species is, “are they just drifting past because there is nowhere suitable for them to live?” This is what deploying the bags may tell us.
Ākonga/students report mixed results
In a joint meeting, each school shared the type of bugs that had ended up in their bags and compared that with baseline sampling. The bags deployed near Whitecliffs and Glentunnel were located furthest up the awa and had lots of sensitive species like green stoneflies, dobsonflies and single gill mayflies, which indicated a higher water quality.
Over the years the students in these areas have led restoration efforts along the awa with riparian planting and are proud of their connection to this waterway.
Further downstream, students discovered some pollution-tolerant species like snails, flatworms, segmented worms, and blood worms in their bags.
Issie said that seeing species like worms isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “A fully functioning ecosystem will include both sensitive species and the more tolerant types.”
Spring flood hinders success
Flooding of the Waikirikiri awa in October meant some of the bug bags were swept down the river.
“None of the students’ hard work will go to waste,” said Issie. “Bags that were washed away will likely end up in Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere and become habitats for invertebrates and small fish.”
“The flood that we had ended up testing the design limits of our bug bags and revealed some deficiencies that the students have already thought of ways to rectify,” explained Matt.
Despite the flood, ākonga still found the creation and launch, as well as the identification of macroinvertebrates, to be an exciting and beneficial activity.
Leeston school said that some of their children didn’t even know there were bugs in the river, so it was an interesting learning experience for them.
“This project wasn’t about having all the answers,” said Matt. “We wanted to foster the children’s curiosity and get them to ask the ‘why’ question. When young people are connected to their local environment, they act instinctively in ways to protect it. I’m sure we will see some cool action from them aimed at improved water quality along the Waikirirkiri awa.”
The project focused on more than 400 repair jobs across Central and South Canterbury. This included:
rebuilding more than 5km of stopbanks
undertaking erosion and scour protection
planting more than 60,000 native and exotic trees.
In many cases, we were able to replant existing trees that had washed out but were still alive after the flood.
This mahi wouldn’t be possible without the support of our communities – hundreds of landowners and dozens of contractors – who tirelessly worked alongside us for the past three years.
The total cost of flood recovery work came down to $22.6 million and we thank the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for helping co-fund about $8.3 million of this through a one-off emergency fund.
The projects in Waitaha that will benefit are the Rangitata Flood and Resilience Works – Stage 2, Regional Structure Upgrade and Adaptation Programme – and Waitarakao/Washdyke/Seadown Works.
Kānoa is co-funding up to 60 per cent of these projects through the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF). Environment Canterbury is funding the rest through rate collection.
District-wide rate for the Waikirikiri/Selwyn River
Finally, as part of the LTP, we implemented the district-wide rate for the Waikirikiri/Selwyn River. This is a dedicated separate rate charged to Selwyn district ratepayers for flood protection work including the clearing out of channels and flow paths, weed control, and berm strengthening.
This is in addition to the six dedicated river and drainage rating districts that exist on the periphery of this work area. We are committed to working with the local community and Selwyn District Council to understand key pressure points and improve flood resilience of the whole catchment.
Help stop the spread of freshwater pests | Environment Canterbury
Date:
Check
Check boats, trailers and anything else that was in the water, including your dog’s fur and paws if your dog is in the water with you, for any plant material and remove it.
Even if the plant appears dry and dead, it may still survive and start a new infestation. Leave debris at the site or, if you find any later, treat and dispose of it in the rubbish. Do not wash it down drains.
Clean
Wash all equipment such as nets, machinery, footwear and clothing thoroughly with an appropriate decontamination solution (10% detergent for 10 minutes or 2% bleach for at least one minute in water) before putting it in any new waterway.
Prevent freshwater weed invasions
Dry
If you can’t clean your gear or animals, restrict your use to a single waterway OR dry completely to the touch inside and out, and leave to dry for at least another 48 hours.
Keep an eye out for our Check, Clean, Dry ambassadors this summer
Our Check, Clean, Dry ambassadors will be out and about this summer at a number of recreational hotspots across the region to help keep freshwater pests front of mind for water users and to chat all things Check, Clean, Dry.
They will also be providing free, portable cleaning equipment and collateral if you are working and playing in and around popular freshwater sites.
“We are looking forward to getting out and visiting freshwater hotspots across Canterbury this summer, creating awareness and educating the public about how to prevent the spread of invasive freshwater pests,” says Louise McDermott, freshwater ambassador – Biosecurity.
Check, Clean, Dry ambassadors Anna and Louise
“Check, Clean, Dry, isn’t just to protect against historic freshwater pests like didymo, there are other harmful aquatic pests which you may not be able to see. We all have a responsibility to protect our freshwater. Remember, even if you can’t see it, if it’s wet, it’s a threat,” says Anna Meikle, freshwater ambassador – Biosecurity.
The juvenile/subadult dolphin, which is travelling with a fully grown dolphin, was first reported to DOC’s hotline on 29 December. It was observed entangled in a fishing net in the Western Waitemata Harbour.
DOC staff have been monitoring the dolphins in the Riverhead Herald Island area, and although they have appeared calm, the positioning of the net may limit the entangled dolphin’s movement and ability to dive.
DOC’s specialist marine mammal disentanglement team is assembling and preparing to intervene. There is added difficulty due to the dolphin’s companion animal, and careful planning is required to ensure a safe outcome for both animals.
What you can do if you spot the dolphin
Call 0800 DOC HOT (0800 36 24 68) immediately with the dolphin’s location and behaviour.
Stay at a safe distance to monitor the dolphin without causing distress.
Boaties should avoid approaching the dolphin or attempting to remove the entanglement, as it can endanger both the dolphin and those involved.
“It’s vital to locate this dolphin as soon as possible,” says Kirsty Prior, DOC Operations Manager. “The safety of both the animal and people responding to its distress is our top priority. Entangled marine mammals face significant risks, and careful planning is needed to ensure the best outcome.”
Entanglement in fishing gear and marine debris is a growing threat to marine life. DOC urges fishers and boaties to minimise floating slack lines when setting fishing gear and to dispose of waste and old gear responsibly to prevent marine debris.
DOC has a specialist marine mammal disentanglement team trained to safely free entangled animals using internationally recognised best practices. “Entanglements like this happen one to two times a year around New Zealand,” says Kirsty. “We have the skills, equipment, and experience to respond, when necessary, but locating the animal is the first crucial step.”
While disentanglement procedures are primarily designed for larger marine mammals like whales, DOC will assess and adapt its approach for this entangled dolphin. DOC teams are equipped with specialist tools and follow strict protocols to ensure safety for both the marine mammal and rescuers.
The last reported sighting was yesterday afternoon by the Huapai Golf Course at the edge of Waitemata Harbour. Anyone spotting the dolphins should call 0800 DOC HOT (0800 36 24 68) immediately with the location and dolphin’s behaviour.
If you’re after epic adventures, you can’t look past the story of Carlos Zavalaga, who followed Northern Buller’s albatross all the way from Peru to the tiny island of Motuhara in the Chathams and back again!
Northern royal albatross colony. Image: Carlos Zavalaga
Dr Carlos Zavalaga, a researcher at Universidad Científica del Sur in Lima, Peru, knows the migratory Northern Buller’s albatross fly several thousands of kilometres from their breeding grounds in Aotearoa New Zealand to feed in Peruvian waters where artisanal long-line fishing vessels operate.
What he doesn’t know and wants to find out – just like our DOC seabird teams here in Aotearoa – is if the interactions between the birds and the fishing boats are posing a risk to the birds. So, as a secondee to DOC, he crossed the Pacific as albatrosses do, to help find out.
Black-browed albatross, white-chinned petrel, and Northern Buller’s albatross competing for shark guts, southern Peru. Image: Javier Quiñones
Seabird capital of the world
You would’ve heard this already, but it’s worth repeating. Aotearoa is the seabird capital of the world. We host over 30% of the world’s seabirds.
“Looking after them on behalf of the world is our responsibility, but they’re not doing so well,” says Johannes Fischer, Marine Science Advisor.
“Despite our huge efforts to rid predators from a lot of our important seabird breeding islands, our seabirds are generally declining. In fact, 90% of our seabirds are in trouble.”
Our seabirds go beyond our jurisdiction
A lot of these seabird population declines are due to causes beyond our jurisdiction.
Igor Debski, Principal Science Advisor Marine, says, “These birds use entire ocean basins where they face threats we can’t control. So, we address those threats by working with foreign nations.”
This work falls under New Zealand’s International Seabird Strategy. Mandy Leathers from the International Team, who led the development of the Strategy, says, “Fortunately, there are simple, effective and inexpensive ways to make fishing seabird safe. The Strategy sets a clear roadmap towards seabird-safe fisheries across the oceans where our seabirds forage and live.”
Johannes explains why we’re working with Peru: “Many of our seabirds cross the Pacific and spend a lot of their time in the highly productive Humboldt Current System off the coast of Peru. The Northern Buller’s albatross is a good example of that. So, Peru is an important country for us to work with to make sure our seabirds are safe when they breed here and feed over there.”
Northern Bullers albatross in Peru. Image: Javier Quiñones
A helping hand from 10,000 kilometres away
Peru has a large number of small artisanal fishing fleets. Together with Carlos and his colleague in Peru, Javier Quiñones, we have been trying to identify more precisely which of their fisheries pose the most risk to seabirds such as Northern Buller’s, and then work with those fisheries to help reduce seabird deaths.
We also don’t know much about seabird distributions in their non-breeding range. Carlos had already tried to get some answers by satellite tagging Northern Buller’s in Peru’s waters three years ago. Unfortunately, this project didn’t have much luck with getting data, as all the transmitters were lost – likely due to moulting. Although what he did get showed that Northern Buller’s were following the paths of fishing vessels.
The tail to this tale. Carlos tagged 10 Northern Buller’s albatross with satellite transmitters. Image: Carlos Zavalaga
Colony life
Motuhara (or Motchuhar in Moriori) is home to the world’s biggest colonies of Northern Buller’s albatross and Northern royal albatross. There are also colonies of Northern giant petrels and cape petrels.
Carlos and DOC staff, Mike Bell and Dave Bell, spent 12 days working with all these species – counting nests, checking bands, banding fledglings, recovering geolocators, and most importantly, tagging Northern Buller’s albatrosses with satellite transmitters to get the all-important data for when these birds return to Peru and where they spend their time.
Nest checks for banded Northern royal albatross. The orange paint is to indicate this nest has already been counted. Image: Carlos Zavalaga
A little project making huge gains
Carlos tagged Northern Buller’s albatrosses whose nests had already failed this season in the hopes they would soon leave the colony and fly back to the feeding grounds in Peru. He hoped this would mean he could get enough data before the tail feathers, where the tags are attached, moulted off.
It’s working.
“Five birds are now on their way to Peru – to Carlos – as we speak. It’s all coming together,” Igor says.
It’s also been a win for relationship building with the owners of the island. Being allowed to work on the island was no small deal. It’s privately owned by a conglomerate of over 200 different Māori owners and getting permission is not straightforward.
Carlos met with two of the owners before leaving on the boat for Motuhara. They were really interested in his work and what’s happening in Peru to protect Northern Buller’s albatross.
Motuhara. Image: Carlos Zavalaga
“This international collaboration is bringing a lot to our general knowledge of the birds, implementing the international seabird strategy, and building important relationships,” says Johannes. “This little project is actually making huge gains in everything.”
