This is a series of regular articles keeping you informed and updated on what is happening to our harbour — truly the ‘Jewel of the Kaipara’.

A tidal turbine project leaves too many unanswered questions about its effect on the Kaipara Harbour

Well here we go again — all back at work with one 12 month cycle behind us and another underway.

As usual ‘the year that was’ brought its own particular bag of rewards and challenges not the least of which were one of the windiest springs we have seen on the harbour for a long time. Now constant wind is not the friend of the set net fisher and for a while there it was very much a case of man versus Mother Nature. The good news is that we all survived it and are looking forward hopefully to a better run next time round.

On another score though things were definitely looking good — we were catching flounder for the first time in memory with bellies full of tiny, soft shelled, flat pippis. This can only meaan that these shell fish are on the way back which is a great sign for the future of the harbour and the fishery.

The banks of Asian date mussels that had been taking over large areas of our part of the Kaipara seem to be in retreat which is also great and, in the meantime, they are still providing a feast for the incoming schools of snapper which, in turn, will keep Kaipara’s fishers, young and old, very happy and well fed.

There was also a massive hatching of crabs across the mud flats — another good food source for the fish. Taken along with all the other signs the indications are that the health of our part of the Kaipara harbour is on the up and up.

Scallops are back on the menu too and, for the first time in years, I was able to sit down to a feed of this sweet delicacy — golden, crunchy and sizzled to perfection. Mfish have done a follow up survey on the state of the scallop beds and, while the results haven’t been released yet, I really hope they show that there are enough out there to keep them on the table.

It’s also been another good year for the harbour with more and more farmers fencing off their coastal boundaries. In our neck of the woods there are now more fences than gaps and the planters and plant growers have been working their hearts out to keep up.

It is to be hoped this improvement in Kaipara waters is not jeopardised by the Environment Court decision to allow the Crest Energy tidal turbine project to proceed. There are conditions attached which we can only hope provides full protection for the fishery.

I see that, in the meantime, Todd Energy — a major player in the New Zealand energy industry — is now an enthusiastic partner in the project and looking forward to being at the fore front of the first commercial application of this technology.

I have to say though that my reservation remains that, although the plans may look good on paper and fit snugly into New Zealand’s renewable energy policies, in reality there are too many unanswered questions. The effect of these turbines on the future health of
the harbour and its fishery are still unknown
and that’s a gamble I’m not prepared to support.

In the meantime all we can do is wait and see and get on with the challenges and rewards of the next 12 months. I hope it will be another good one for the Kaipara and its good people.