Bay Harbour: February 26, 2020

PAGE 8 Wednesday February 26 2020
BAY HARBOUR
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Your Local Views
Oil spills always a concern
Environment
Canterbury
deputy
harbourmaster
Guy Harris
writes about
marine oil
spills and how
and why the appropriate
responses are determined
in light of a recent incident
near Akaroa Heads
THANKFULLY, marine oil
spills are rare in Canterbury.
Environment Canterbury
works proactively with operators
to help ensure they do not have
oil spills, and that appropriate
response equipment is available
should a spill occur. However,
when an oil spill does happen,
we have powers under the
Maritime Transport Act 1994 to
intervene.
When determining the appropriate
response, ECan maintains
a number of oil spill response
equipment sites around the region,
at Lyttelton and Akaroa, as
well as Christchurch, Kaikōura
and Timaru.
Our equipment and team of
trained responders allow for a
swift response to a spill. Gear
and training of responders is
funded through the Oil Pollution
Fund, managed by Maritime
New Zealand and created
by a levy on shipping.
On receiving a report of a spill,
we must first verify the report
and identify a few facts, including:
· What type of oil is it?
· Where is the oil?
· How much oil is there?
· Where is it moving to?
· What sensitive sites are nearby?
Armed with this information,
a specific response can be
mounted. We have a comprehensive
response plan to draw on,
which provides guidance on how
to respond and allows for local
sensitivities and resources to be
identified and protected. An important
part of any response is
the notification and involvement
of key stakeholders.
Every spill response will have
differing actions and complexities,
but the aim is always to help the
environment to recover. As such,
actions taken should have an
overall net environmental benefit
– ie: the response should leave the
environment in a better condition
than if the oil were left there.
A recent oil pollution incident
occurred near Akaroa heads. A
recreational boat hit a rock and
sunk quickly; thankfully, everybody
was retrieved safely.
However, our incident
response team received a call
about a possible oil slick in the
area. Using reports from local
tour boat operators and the harbourmaster’s
office navigation
cameras, we ascertained that
the slick was a very thin sheen
of diesel, most likely from the
sunken boat.
The most effective and prompt
manner of removing the remaining
oil was to salvage the vessel.
The vessel’s insurer engaged a
marine contractor to recover
the vessel and contain the oil
onboard.
The response included assessments
of the local wildlife
and sensitive sites, access to the
area, and response options that
may be utilised. The contractor
checked the area; apart from a
small bit of flotsam, which was
collected, no sign of the boat
was found – even using sonar.
• WHAT YOU CAN DO TO
HELP: If you do discover an
oil spill, whether on the sea
or land, please phone the
incident response team on
our 24-hour hotline, 0800
765 588 – we are ready and
waiting.
No more diesel has been spotted
since, in spite of the area being
checked multiple times by local
operators on our behalf.
It is likely that the thin sheen
of diesel would have been broken
up by the swell and then would
have evaporated quickly in the
hot weather.
To give an idea of how little
diesel it takes to make a badlooking
spill, around 100ml
– less than half a cup – of diesel
can disperse to create a rainbow
sheen (which is about 3-4 microns
thick) the size of a tennis
court. Oil spill response is about
working out the most effective
methods of response that causes
the least environmental harm.
On a final note, recently another
call came into the incident response
team regarding a thin rainbow
sheen in Akaroa, this time
around the wharf in French Bay.
Contractors have tested the
pipework and tanks associated
with the diesel bowser on the
wharf, but nothing has been
found to be wrong and investigations
will continue.
As an aside, it is worth noting
that the wharf is currently in
the early planning stage of a
Christchurch City Council rebuild
project and the fuel supply
infrastructure is being discussed
as part of this.
BIRDS OF THE ESTUARY
Tanya Jenkins is the manager of the Avon-
Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust, a non-profit
organisation formed in 2002 to protect one of
New Zealand’s most important coastal wetlands.
Each week she introduces a new bird found
in the estuary. Her column aims to raise the
understanding of the values and uniqueness of
the area.
Don’t let the clever
pukeko fool you
THE PUKEKO or swamp hen
are a well-known, heavyweight
native resident – with male birds
weighing up to 1.1kg.
Some people may call them
“dumb birds” for getting on
roads to become roadkill,
however, pukeko are actually
extremely clever and complex
birds.
Don’t be fooled by the pukeko
running around clumsily along
the road as they can swim, run
and fly extremely well.
Pukeko are commonly seen
on regularly mown roadsides
as they love the fresh new grass
shoots and growth there.
That, paired with their need
to eat grit off the road, (this aids
them in their digestion of tough
to digest foods like grass) puts
them at high risk of being run
down by motorists.
Pukeko live in small community
groups and are very protective
of their territory, hence why
you can hear their loud shrieking
when they defend their patch.
Females in the group will lay
as many as 19 eggs in one shared
nest, which is incubated by the
males. When chicks hatch, the
entire group, whether they are
breeding and non breeding
birds, will feed the chicks for
about three months. Now that’s
clever.
How can we help these birds
thrive? Keep dogs on the lead
when walking near waterways as
to not disturb them while they
are nesting, feeding or resting.
Drive carefully along roads
where you see pukeko regularly
and slow down.
PROTECTIVE: Pukeko are misinterpreted as being “dumb birds,”
however, they are quite complex and clever.
PHOTO: BRIAN BETTS ​