hat an amazing article by Sally Blundell (“Keep out!”, August 26) covering a large number of our biosecurity threats, including the Caulerpa seaweed, found off Kawau Island and Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf in the past two months.
I read it eagerly as I had just been a participant in a Ngāti Manuhiri-led, Ngāti Hei-hosted hui “Te Wero Nui” at Whitianga. They assembled a group of overseas experts and local stakeholders to look at how to deal with Caulerpa. The experts laid out the horrors of marine ecology destruction that has followed the spread of Caulerpa.
We need urgent action and planning to manage this invasive weed. With the plethora of issues that were highlighted, many feel this threat to our marine areas is underrated, and a spotlight needs to be shone on it. Mana whenua-led actions in their rohe have stirred up a strong pool of community action and crossagency response. It was heartening to see iwi, Biosecurity NZ, the Ministry for Primary Industries, the fishing industry, recreational fishers, dive groups, local councils and others all sitting at the table. It is important that we get articles such as this one out
