Public demand answers on Rena

Emotions were high last night as hundreds of people packed an auditorium at Tauranga Boys' College to demand answers about the oil spewing onto Western Bay of Plenty beaches.

With between 200 and 300 tonnes of oil expected on shores around the Bay of Plenty today, the looks of distress and sadness were evident on people's faces as they were prepared for what lies ahead.


Mary Dillon of the Tauranga Environment Centre asks what is happening to protect the inner wetlands and estuaries from oil.

Maritime NZ CEO Catherine Taylor told people this incident is one of three that happen each year around the world and people need to be prepared for masses of oil on beaches.

'You can expect significant amounts of oil on the beaches from tomorrow.”

A clean up operation will get underway today with 25 teams of 10 people working along the beaches to remove oil.

Catherine confirmed heavy machinery will not be used to clean up the beach and stressed that people wanting to help need to volunteer by phoning 0800 645 774.

'They will risk taking oil from contaminated beaches into areas that are not contaminated.”

Environment Advisor from Waikato University Chris Battershill told the crowd the clean up operation will take months but could not say exactly how long it will be until people can again swim and fish in the oceans around the Western Bay.

'People need to be cautious. It all depends on the amount of oil in one place and the characteristics of the habitat.

'Open sandy beaches may recover quite quickly. Rocky reefs will take a lot longer.”

Chris says it is hard gauge the impact the oil will have on the region's unique reef systems but says teams have been in and around the water of Motiti and Matakana Islands gathering samples and planning for recovery of these areas.

'This region is blessed with a lot of information about the beaches, waterways and estuaries but the reef systems have almost no quantitative information about them.”

The protection of inner estuaries and wetlands was brought into question with Mary Dillon of the Tauranga Environment Centre asking what is being done to protect these inlets from oil.

'We have a fragile system of wetlands and estuaries in the inner harbour, what can be done to protect them?”

Chris says oil trajectory plans have been put in place and confirmed oil will be entering the inner harbour and wetland areas.

'Unfortunately larger volumes of oil are going to go into smaller areas.”

Catherine confirmed booms could not be used in the current weather conditions.

Maritime NZ CEO Catherine Taylor gives a presentation to the public on the grounding of container ship Rena with National MP for Tauranga Simon Bridges.

There was anger from the public over the use of the disbursement Corexit 9500.

Mike King from Greenpeace initiated heated debate over the disbursement demanding answers to why it was used when it is not approved in the United Kingdom and France.

Environment Minister Nick Smith said the disbursement was approved by the EPA for use in this environment.

Nick says Maritime NZ tested five different disbursements and Corexit proved the most effective.

'This was the most effective for breaking the oil up.”

Many members of the crowd wanted answers as to why Rena had run aground on Astrolabe Reef, one of the most well known reefs in the area.

Nick said inquiries were still ongoing into the cause of the grounding but assured people those responsible would not be allowed to leave the country.

The captain of the ship has been arrested and will appear in court today.

The Wildlife Rescue Centre in Te Maunga has recieved 17 oiled birds and 53 dead birds and is caring for one juvenile seal, which was taken off the beach to stop it becoming oiled.

Oiled Wildlife Responder Kerri Morgan said preemptive teams have been deployed to capture threatened species like the dotterel found in Maketu wetlands and petrel.

"They will be locating and collecting threatened birds before they get oiled."

With the first of 82 cruise ships arriving in Tauranga today, Mayor Stuart Crosby says there will be economic repercussions for the Bay of Plenty but people need to work together.

'This is our playground and it is being assaulted. We are under siege and we need to work together."

Seen oil damage? Call 0800 SUNLIVE with your news tip.
Email photos to newsroom@thesun.co.nz

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1 comment

Come In Winston

Posted on 13-10-2011 16:26 | By pomfart

Who does Crosby think he is? Winston Churchill? It's oil, not Jap snipers coming ashore.


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