West Coasters warned to watch out for new toxic beach weed stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Stuff
Signs say farm run-off is to blame for “cloudy” water at this waterfall but it s been years since authorities tested it.
Farmers are being blamed for contaminating a popular Waikato waterfall even though a test suggests the water is safe to swim in. Signs at Wairēinga Bridal Veil Falls blame farmland run-off for “cloudy” water at the falls, despite a Whaingaroa Harbour Care project that appears to have dramatically improved water quality in the last decade. But, as thousands of tourists troop past the sign at the popular summer spot, the Department of Conservation said the signs would remain until its own review and water quality tests were completed.
Seeing dead gannets along the Kāwhia coastline isn’t unusual, though it may be a troubling sight for locals, Waikato senior ranger bio-diversity Nigel Binks said. “Just off the west coast we’ve got an island called Gannet Island, and it’s the most substantial gannet breeding colony in the country,” Binks said.
Supplied
With its 1.8 m wing-span, the Australasian gannet is a conspicuous, predominantly white seabird that is common in New Zealand coastal waters (File Photo). “Last week, unfortunately, we had 10-metre swells. “What we suspect is that the swells flushed the breeding colony and knocked young birds out of those nests, and that’s why so many of those young birds have washed up to shore a couple of days later.”
More than 100 gannets found dead after high tides pummel breeding colony stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.