151001SumSubRena
UNDER
The Resource Management Act 1991
IN THE MATTER OF
an application by the Astrolabe
Community Trust to the Bay of Plenty
Regional Council for resource consents
in relation to the remains of the MV
Rena
Summary of submission from ROGER VERNON GRACE
1.
My name is Roger Vernon Grace. I am an independent marine biologist. My
qualifications and relevant experience are outlined in an Appendix to this
summary. I am here to support the ocean and its inhabitants, not any
particular human group.
2.
I made a personal submission on the Rena case in August 2014. I was later
engaged by the Motiti Rohe Moana Trust as an expert witness and prepared a
brief of evidence for them which was included with their documents
presented. As a consequence of being an expert witness, I withdrew my
personal submission.
3.
I took part in the Ecology and Contaminants expert caucusing on 18th August
2015, and contributed to the Joint Witness Statement on Ecology.
4.
At the beginning of this hearing the Motiti Rohe Moana Trust reached
agreement with the Applicant and withdrew their case in opposition to the
application. This meant that my prepared expert evidence was also
withdrawn, although I believe it would have been helpful to the panel.
5.
As I was no longer an expert witness I requested through the Hearings
Manager re-instatement of my personal submission. That request was
subsequently granted, hence I am here today.
6.
The first part of my submission was a page of notes to the Motiti Rohe Moana
Trust to help them with their submission.
7.
I stand by my main submission apart from some timings (such as the exclusion
zone has now been in place for four years) but bring together here by way of
clarification and emphasis some references to other evidence already
presented.
8.
My submission outlines reasons for seeking continuation of the protectionfrom-fishing aspects of the exclusion zone, and for seeking long-term
protection through a marine reserve, type 1 MPA, or a rahui tapu.
9.
There have been two major “good” things to have come out of the Rena
disaster. The first is how the community came together to deal with a major
environmental problem in the Bay. The second is the beginnings of a recovery
of fish life and ecology at Otaiti because of the no-fishing effects of the
exclusion zone. It would be a pity to open up the reef to fishing again and lose
the benefits to the Bay of an area heading towards recovery from many years
of fishing.
10.
Protection from fishing during the four years of the exclusion zone has allowed
fish life to begin a long process of recovery from 100 years of intensive fishing
activity.
11.
In Richard Boyd’s summary statement on Fisheries, paragraph 14
includes…”ecological and diver survey observations indicate that there has
been an apparent increase in the abundance of fishes at the Reef over the past
four years. This is almost certainly a consequence of the cessation of fishing
for seafood species within what is a relatively large exclusion zone around
Otaiti.”
12.
In the Joint Witness Statement on Ecology, “from an ecological recovery
perspective all experts agreed that a “no-take” fishing protection area over the
whole reef would remove one of the multiple stressors, which is fishing
pressure.”
13.
Fish life in the Bay of Plenty is a mere shadow of what it was early last century.
In fact I have heard the term Bay of Empty used to more accurately describe
the Bay in recent years.
14.
Evidence of Richard Boyd makes clear some of the heavy reductions in fishery
resources of the Bay. His Evidence in Chief, Rebuttal Evidence, and his
Summary all contain compelling evidence of the sorry state of snapper and
particularly hapuku in the Bay.
15.
For example Richard Boyd’s rebuttal evidence paragraph 4.4 indicates MPI’s
2014 Plenary Report shows the 2013 biomass of snapper in the BOP was only
13% of the pre-fished biomass. The new target is 40%.
16.
And in Boyd’s rebuttal paragraph 5.13 he states “a Kaimoana Resource
(hapuku) of significance to iwi has almost certainly been lost as a consequence
of unsustainable levels of fishing being allowed over the past century or more.”
17.
Richard Boyd’s summary statement paragraph 13 indicates “….it is fishing
alone that is responsible for a decline in hapuku abundance generally and
responsible for the almost total loss of hapuku from shallow coastal reef
habitats throughout the Bay of Plenty and indeed along the entire northeast
coast.”
18.
In his summary of evidence on Cultural and Customary Associations, Tahu
Potiki recognizes the status of Otaiti as a toka hapuka, where hapuku were
caught for special occasions and for chiefs. That tradition has lapsed after “the
early 20th century, and may well have been disrupted by commercial fishing
and poor fisheries management.”
19.
Tahu Potiki noted in oral questioning that although that tradition has lapsed
(through overfishing) that does not take away from the importance of it.
20.
Dr Kepa Morgan’s summary evidence discusses the impacts on mauri, and
expresses concerns over resumption of fishing. At paragraph 68 (note there is
a paragraph numbering error) he states “…the regeneration of reef species has
been aided by the imposed exclusion zone. The protected ecosystem is now
acting in the role of a nursery for the greater area enhancing ecosystem mauri,
however this enhanced mauri is also under threat if and when the exclusion
zone is removed and commercial and recreational fishing returns Otaiti to the
same depleted state of adjacent reef structures.”
21.
There are several other submissions which call for continuation of the nofishing status of the exclusion zone, or the creation of a marine reserve or longterm rahui.
22.
Submission #036, Wellington Underwater Club. Encourages creation of a rahui
to allow the reef to recover faster, and to restore a healthy marine ecosystem
as observed in marine reserves.
23.
Submission #132, Friends of the Bay. Seeks a marine reserve at Astrolabe and
marine protected area in the Bay.
24.
Submission #152, Forest and Bird. Paragraph 7, proposal for a marine reserve
or MPA on Astrolabe Reef. Paragraph 9, current exclusion zone should remain
in place until a marine reserve/MPA is established so that benefits of closure
are not lost due to resumption of fishing.
25.
Forest and Bird in their summary presentation suggest that a mitigation fund
should be established to cover costs of funding a Marine Protection Forum,
consultation, and establishment of a Marine Reserve and MPAs, and the
associated monitoring programme for a period of 10 years. They also note
that “recreational fishermen in the Bay of Plenty have found alternative places
to fish over the last 4 years”…
26.
Much has been made of the desire to restore taonga species such as snapper,
crayfish and hapuku to the reef. That is simply not going to happen in the
presence of fishing. Building on the effects of the exclusion zone by
maintaining the no-fishing status around the reef will encourage recovery of
previously exploited species and the ecology of the rocky reef habitat.
27.
Some form of sanctuary status around Otaiti, to allow fish life to again flourish
in spectacular fashion, would be a fitting tribute to the sad loss of marine life,
seabirds and mauri as a result of the damage caused by the wreck.
28.
The general public and tangata whenua will gain satisfaction in the knowledge
that a small part of the Bay of Plenty is on the way to recovering to a healthy
vibrant state with abundant marine life and recovering taonga species.
Roger Grace PhD., QSM
1 October 2015
APPENDIX.
QUALIFICATIONS AND RELEVANT EXPERIENCE.
1. My name is Roger Vernon Grace.
2. I have a B.Sc., M.Sc. (Hons.), and Ph.D in Zoology (marine biology) from the
University of Auckland (1972), and have carried out marine ecological studies for
over 40 years.
3. For a few years in the late 1970’s I was employed part time by a biological
consulting firm in Auckland, gaining wide experience in field work, lab processing
and reporting on studies in estuarine and coastal environments. Since then I
have been a self-employed consultant with clients in Government Departments,
local authorities, and the private sector, and various NGO’s involved in
environmental matters, in New Zealand and overseas. I was awarded a Queen’s
Service Medal (QSM) for public service in 2005.
4. My specialist fields include intertidal and sub-tidal benthic ecology, long-term
monitoring of marine life in coastal and shallow benthic areas, including marine
protected areas with various levels of protection, and effects of dredging and
dredge spoil disposal and offshore sand extraction. My main experience has
been gained in northern New Zealand.
5. In the mid 1960’s as a student I spent two separate summer weeks camping at
Mayor Island, snorkelling and diving amongst what was then abundant and rich
fish life. Huge schools of trevally, kahawai and kingfish were abundant, scattered
through the sea stretching from the Tauranga coast to Mayor Island, in what was
truly the “Bay of Plenty”. Sadly that abundance is now just a memory.
6. I have many years diving experience around offshore islands in Northland and
the Bay of Plenty, and have good knowledge of shallow and deeper reef
ecosystems in the Northeastern Bioregion from North Cape to East Cape.
7. As part of the Offshore Islands Research Group, derived from the Auckland
University Field Club, I have camped on, and researched marine life at many
offshore island groups in Northland, the Hauraki Gulf and several in the Bay of
Plenty. Our interdisciplinary studies were published over many years in Tane,
the official journal of the Auckland University Field Club. These studies now form
a valuable scientific reference series for the natural history of many of our
offshore islands.
8. In 1994 I was contracted for a short time by Bay of Plenty Regional Council to
describe and assess sediment-bottom habitats within the limits of the Territorial
Sea as part of their background information for various planning and statutory
documents in the CMA.
9. From 1990 to 2007 I participated in many oceanic ship-based expeditions
investigating
fisheries,
marine
pollution,
marine
protection,
Antarctic
ecosystems, coral reefs, global warming and other issues in the Pacific and Indian
Oceans, Southern Ocean, Scottish waters, Tasman Sea and the Mediterranean
Sea, as a photographer and biologist for Greenpeace International and other
Greenpeace branches.
10. In the 1990’s I appeared as an expert witness in two hearings regarding the then
proposed marina at Whangamata, presenting evidence on ecological and natural
character matters, for Government and iwi clients.
11. For over twenty-five years I have carried out biological investigations into
harbour ecology and the ecological effects of dredging the harbour channels in
the Port of Tauranga, as well as the impacts of dredge spoil disposal offshore.
12. My first scientific investigations at Tauranga were in 1988 when I carried out
informal sampling using a small biological dredge offshore from the Mount Beach
and in the vicinity of the disposal grounds. This information was used to help
plan the environmental assessment programme for the Port of Tauranga capital
dredging works of 1992.
13. As a marine ecology consultant to Port of Tauranga Ltd. I have been involved in
the planning and execution of biological programmes associated with channel
deepening and widening, dredge spoil disposal and monitoring, dive surveys and
sample processing, detailed photographic monitoring of subtidal rocky reef sites
on the islands off the Mount, student research projects, boulder reef
construction, assessment of life on wharf structures, impacts of dredging on pipi
populations, impacts of log storage runoff on shellfish beds, appearing as an
expert witness at Council and Environment Court hearings, and most recently
discussions with iwi representatives on the Kaimoana Restoration Programme
sponsored by PTL.
14. Early in 2014 I was approached by the Motiti Rohe Moana Trust to act on their
behalf as an expert witness on marine biological matters in relation to the Rena
application.
15. I confirm that I have read the Code of Conduct for Expert Witnesses contained in
the Environment Court Practice Note and agree to comply with it. I have
considered all the material facts that I am aware of that might alter or detract
from the opinions that I express. This evidence is within my area of expertise.
16. In preparing this evidence I have reviewed most applicants and submitters
evidence that related to ecological matters, and viewed many underwater videos
showing debris and reef life, including a recent one from the Mount Maunganui
Underwater Club.