New biohazard - How to stop the slimy white tubes

[wheels 543]

 

Definitely wouldn't have a show starting out with an attitude like that. But I do acknowledge you'd need to be a grumpy old git with plenty of time on your hands.

The issue is that it is not the Council you would be fighting. They only enforce the rules on behalf of the EPA, which is directly under the Gvt.

And it isn't quite like the rates issue, which was an illegal act. Environmental acts are under law. We may not like or agree, but they are laws. We could petition Gvt for changes in Law, and they may or maynot have the laws changed. But I doubt you would get anywhere taking a fight to court, because the court has to uphold the law.

[Fish 0]

Accept Lyttelton and Auckland (that I am aware of) have already given up the fight against fan-worm. Those regional councils work under the same Law as the NRC. Law is open to interpretation.

Fan worm is already in Northland. Fact.

A precedence has been set other regional Councils already with regards to the application of the Law round fan worm.

 

And more to the point, I'm talking more about the general cultural behavior of NRC.

 

Of interest, at the last local body election, the sitting Mayor of the FNDC got 17% of the vote. i.e .clearly and roundly slammed by the people of Northland...

There is more than one way to deal with an issue, and many more subtle ways to deal with it rather than a direct legal challenge. 

If the political environment was appropriate, NRC would pas a motion buried deep in the minutes of some tedious meeting not to bother trying to fight fanworm.

Most likely if elected officials jobs depended on it.

[Steve Pope 243]

When the local populace were invited to make submissions, excess of 65% +- were opposed to what the NRC was proposing. Their response was to say all that didn't respond  were obviously happy with what the NRC were proposing, so as they would outnumber those who made submissions, NRC was full steam ahead. A bit of animal farm and catch 22 rolled together.  How big is the NRC marine division?? How many boats, divers, and hangers on are there? I seem to remember they only had funding for a weeks worth of diving in the B o I last year.

[Steve Pope 243]

OH, and the NRC is appealing the court decision pinging them for wrongfully collected rates,. Of course it will be our (ratepayers) money that will fund the appeal. It is always so easy with OPM.

[Rangi1 50]

 

Of interest, at the last local body election, the sitting Mayor of the FNDC got 17% of the vote. i.e .clearly and roundly slammed by the people of Northland...

it/quote]

 

Ahhhh - no, he got re-elected actually.........

[Fish 0]

Sorry Rangi,

getting my elections mixed up, I was refer to the one before the last one (can't keep track)

 

Wayne Brown, the encumbent Mayor, got 2,868 votes, John Carter, the current Mayor, got 9,604 votes, this is in the 2013 election.

https://www.fndc.govt.nz/your-council/local-government-elections/2013/Copy-of-FNDC-FinalResults-2013.pdf

[southernman 73]

and....  http://www.nzherald.co.nz/marine/news/article.cfm?c_id=61&objectid=11929209

[ex Elly 197]

"During the Northland Regional Council's (NRC) 2015-2016 survey season, six vessels were recorded with fanworm in Matauwhi Bay. (Russell)"

 

"More than 2000 hulls of all kinds, from small runabouts to luxury super yachts, are expected to be checked over the next few months."

[Fish 0]

Good grief, the Herald is not exaggerating for a change "heavy fan worm infestations found on boat in Russel".

 

Heavy is not an understatement.

 

Wonder how it got there?

 

So it's now confirmed fan worm is in the Bay of Islands......

[wheels 543]

 

"We did a follow up survey of Matauwhi Bay in late July this year which checked the reef, structures, moorings and adjacent hardstand area where incidents had been recorded, but no fanworm was found," NRC biosecurity manager Don McKenzie said.

The boat in question this week was inspected in the same routine biosecurity monitoring programme, with some hull fouling found on it, but no marine pests.

Bollocks. That boat could not have been inspected. That is mature Fan worm. It takes a lot longer than 3 or 4 months to reach that size. In fact those look a lot older than 12months even.

[wheels 543]

Which leads to a net question. How many more were missed. How many other area's have been missed.
Some really big questions need to be asked of the Dive team.

[Steve Pope 243]

Dive team way too late, look to empire building and revenue streams as motivation for continuing this fiasco! Auckland flagged it in 2010!

[John B 106]

We had our boat in the Opua marina for a couple of weeks in may waiting for window to clear out. Antifouled with 66 in feb.

I hadn't realised but that place is infected with barnacles and our two year plus  antifoul is ruined, we'll have to haul this season. If I'd known I could have scraped the juveniles off easily but I have to chalk that one up to experience.  By the time I cottoned on the bastards had created their hard base and just leave that there when you scrape. .

 How you keep a boat there year round is beyond me.

We had great customs and Biosecurity guys clearing back in a week ago but there were some pointed questions as to how often we dived and or cleaned the hull while away , and a hint that the requirements will become tougher for boats coming in from offshore, even kiwi boats with antifoul/ cleaning proof before departing. They are going to want photo proof at least of a clean hull.

[waikiore 398]

Yes JB and the new type of Barnacle from the BOI is very quick to adhere and tenacious , all the hardstand operators south of Whangarei are aware of it for the last 18 months, yet we dont ban Northland boats from other ports? About the only Antifoul that throws it are the very soft ones -No 5 etc