Staff from New Zealand Dept of Conservation are often employed as ‘consultants’ for overseas ‘pest’ eradication projects. One example of such an eradication attempt comes from Wake Atoll, known as ‘Wake Island’ – which is between Hawaii and Guam in the northern Pacific Ocean. It is made up of Wake, (525 ha), Peale (95 ha), and Wilkes Islands (76 ha).
Wake is an unincorporated U.S. territory that is managed by the Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force. About 70 people reside on Wake (military personnel and contractors). Wake has approximately 19 km of coastline and is an important breeding area for many species of seabirds.Importantly, the coastline is also fished by the local residents for sport and food.
In 2012 an aerial brodifacoum poisoning operation took place over the islands to try to eradicate rats. How long brodifacoum persists in the environment is unclear, but we know it can potentially affect the food chain. These residues may impact on fish that are caught by Wake Island residents for sport and consumption. Three months after the poisoning, 5 out of 48 samples had “detectable levels” of poison – toxicologists therefore recommended a 942 day fishing ban after initial testing was done. But how much longer would the pesticide be in the food chain?
In 2015 – THREE YEARS AFTER this aerial operation of brodifacoum – samples from various marine life were taken. The scientists found that some fish (1 of 8 bluefin trevally, and 4 of 4 blacktail snapper, all from within a lagoon) had low but detectable levels of brodifacoum residues.
The scientists suggest that outcomes from their investigation should provide a comprehensive idea of the risks of contamination in marine life over the longer term from using pesticides aerially. In the article, the authors state “All reasonable efforts should be made to minimize unnecessary environmental and nontarget exposures (e.g., through precise application methods) and all risk assessments must consider the specific context of proposed action [poisoning the environment].”
However, an aerial distribution from helicopter of a lethal poison can NEVER be ‘precise’. The environment and the residents’ health have been put at risk.Reference: Siers, Shane R.; Shiels, Aaron B.; Volker, Steven F.; Rex, Kristen; and Pitt, William C., “Brodifacoum residues in fish three years after an island-wide rat eradication attempt in the tropical Pacific” (2020). USDA National Wildlife Research Center – Staff Publications. 2313.https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/2313
Kathy White says: “Remember the Hauraki Gulf brodifacoum poison drop? The dead dolphins, penguins, dogs and toxic sea-slugs? And the DOC man interviewed on TV, lying about having tested the penguins and them being negative. Fortunately there was an astute journalist who probed and discovered they hadn’t tested them – they had just examined them. Years later, in Penny Fisher’s journal articles, it talked about detecting brodifacoum in the penguins and them thinking the penguins may have died of starvation. They did later studies on anticoagulant rodenticides in penguins and found more than 50% of South Island test subjects had at least one anticoagulant in them.”
Image 1: Wake Island aerial view. Source: Pinterest
Image 2: Brodifacoum baits Source: Wellington Council
Seen anything sustainable happening since Rogernomics? Since the inception of the Agenda 21 plans? All that seems to be happening really is more rape & pillage with the blessing of the respective governments which really aren’t too different (in case you hadn’t noticed) … same bird different wings, offering you the illusion of choice. The Agenda 21 buzz word ‘sustainable’ is a bit of a joke really … three decades on and all we have to show for the outworking of that scheme by the various authorities (namely district & regional councils) is more pollution, more debt, more ‘austerity measures’ (for some… guess who) more poverty, more suicide, more homelessness and little of anything worth celebrating at all. They would like us to swallow the line that they are CONSERVING biodiversity … so they approve mining exploration in a dolphin sanctuary? They also bomb our native & non native species with a Class 1A Ecotoxin under the same guise. I think folk are waking up to the big sustainable lie now. It’s shot full of holes. EWR
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, of Ngati Ruanui, says she was shocked to hear of the permit being granted. The iwi is one of 11 organisations appeal Trans Tasman Resources consent to mine off the South Taranaki Coast
From stuff.co.nz
A mining exploration permit has been quietly granted inside a marine sanctuary off the Taranaki coast to protect the endangered Māui’s dolphins.
The decision, which was approved in May, has shocked conservation groups who were unaware of it.
But the Department of Conservation (DOC) had been aware of Ironsands Offshore Mining Ltd’s application since March. It has voiced “significant concerns” about the safety of the dolphins if the exploration proved successful and mining was to go ahead.
In March DOC warned Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage that it was uncertain whether the public was aware of the application and there would be a “high level of interest” if people were told of the development.
The exploration permit was later granted without seeking resource consent from the Taranaki Regional Council because its coastal plan rules exploration is a permitted activity.
Ironsands also has a permit to explore the seabed of Waihi Beach, in the Bay of Plenty, but this will require recourse consent from the regional council because its coastal plan requires it.
A Taranaki iwi already fighting mining plans off the coast of Pātea in South Taranaki said the approval raised alarm bells.
In an emailed statement, Te Runanga o Ngati Ruanui Trust kaiarataki Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said granting the five year exploration permit in the sanctuary, which runs from Oakura to Maunganui Bluff in Northland, set a dangerous precedent.
“Taranaki has been instructed by this coalition government to transition our economy away from fossil-fuelled industry. To do that we must have certainty that our unique appeal, including natural resources, will be protected,” she said.
In April, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the end of offshore oil and gas exploration, about one month before Ironsands Offshore Mining’s exploration permit was granted.
The permit covers an area almost four times the size of that granted by the Environmental Protection Authority to Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for mining of the coast Pātea.
The EPA’s decision was appealed by 11 parties and an appeal hearing was held in the High Court at Wellington in April. Justice Peter Churchman has yet to reveal his decision.
There was another threatened stranding of our sea creatures recently in Northland on 8 December, this time dolphins. Right on the heels of 80-90 stranded whales on the Chathams recently, 51 of those did not survive as of 30 November 2018. There were also two other NZ strandings, one on Stewart Island that saw 145 dead, another in Northland which saw a loss of 5. This is all so tragic and with Christmas almost upon us the enormity can tend to fly under the radar. There will be more for sure. We posted a while back on this topic with other strandings, joining dots & making links to causes other than the usual mantra the authorities roll out as they have in this article.
DoC said exactly why whales and dolphins stranded was not fully known but factors could include sickness, navigational error, geographical features, a rapidly falling tide, being chased by a predator, or extreme weather. More than one factor might contribute to a stranding.
They never mention the factor that recently had alarmed conservationists in the US up in arms:
Defenders of ocean habitats and marine life are up in arms on Friday as the Trump administration is set to approve new abilities for the fossil fuel industry to conduct widescale and “deafening” underwater seismic in federal waters off the U.S. Atlantic coast.
In that article at the link there is another article referenced …Why whales strand and how to help them. It cites the usual reasons already mentioned; ‘whale strandings are natural occurrences’.
Media is predictably quick to eliminate man’s interference with the environment as causal regarding any environmental damage. If you’re familiar with this site you will know that this denial is not uncommon. Corporations whose primarily focus is profits all vehemently deny that their practices cause damage. They are also well armed with a bevy of well paid lawyers to ‘legally’ destroy anybody who threatens those profits. People are targeted, assaulted and even lose their lives standing up to corporate profiteering.
That said, it is well to search for and consider the independent information on all events since corporations cannot be trusted to tell you the truth. They tell bold faced lies. If you doubt that watch ‘The Corporation’ doco found on the Corporations page.
The Threat of Underwater Noise Pollution to Marine Life, Particularly Seismic Testing
The following short video from oceancare.org explains concisely the threat of noise to marine life saying “underwater noise pollution is a serious threat…” (the phenomenon media doesn’t mention).
At 1.45 minutes the effect of sonar from military ships is explained and at 2.22 minutes, the effects of seismic exploration for oil and gas on marine life. As many Kiwis will know our oceans are now replete with activity from the latter, especially since our ‘esteemed’ and recently departed leader John Key signed away drilling rights to his corporate friends. Key and his corporation (aka known as the NZ Government) have no regard whatsoever for our natural environment. Corporations are about profits not people or environments. See more on Key below.
Video Information:OceanCareOrg Join the worldwide campaign: silentoceans.comWhales stranding, shoals of fish collapsing, sea turtles fleeing: extreme noise is harming marine life. Noise caused by military sonar tests, the search for oil and gas, and giant ship propellers. Help us by joining the worldwide campaign SILENT OCEANS.
VIDEO INFORMATION: “Basically, John Key is [was & his legacy continues] killing whales and dolphins, and potentially ruining the seafood (crabs, crayfish etc) industry in the areas where this seismic survey technology is used.
The main environmental concern for marine surveys is the potential of seismic sources to disturb animal life, especially cetaceans such as whales, porpoises, and dolphins. Surveys involve towing an array of 15-45 pneumatic air guns below the ocean surface behind the survey vessel and emit sound pulses of a “predominantly low frequency (10–300 Hz), high intensity (215-250 dB).
Seismic surveying can damage the reproductive processes, auditory functions and other damaging effects to highly lucrative marine species (lobster, crab) and it poses potentially fatal effects to marine mammals.
Seismic testing is not fully responsible for whales running ashore or becoming stranded, but there is evidence that it plays a major role. Studies of seismic effects on several whale species such as Gray, Bowhead, Blue, Humpback and Sperm whales indicated substantial effects in behavior, breathing, feeding and diving patterns.
On November 28, 2004, Reuters reported that during a three day span, 169 whales and dolphins beached themselves in Tasmania, an island off the southern coast of mainland Australia. The cause for these beachings is not known, but Bob Brown, a senator in the Australian parliament, said “sound bombing” or seismic tests of ocean floors to test for oil and gas had been recently carried out near the sites of the Tasmanian beachings.
According to Jim Cummings of the Acoustic Ecology Institute, seismic surveys utilising airguns have been taking place in mineral-rich areas of the world’s oceans since 1968. Among the areas that have experienced the most intense survey activity are the North Sea, the Beaufort Sea (off Alaska’s North Slope), and the Gulf of Mexico; areas around Australia and South America are also current hotspots of activity.
The impulses created by the release of air from arrays of up to 24 airguns create low frequency sound waves powerful enough to penetrate up to 40km below the seafloor. The “source level” of these sound waves is generally over 200dB (and often 230dB or more), roughly comparable to a sound of at least 140-170dB in air.
According to the Australian Conservation Foundation, these 200dB — 230dB shots from the airguns are fired every 10 seconds or so, from 10 metres below the surface, 24 hours a day, for 2 week periods of time, weather permitting.
These types of tests are known to affect whales and dolphins, whose acute hearing and use of sonar is very sensitive.
On December 24, 2004 there was a magnitude 8.1 earthquake more than 800 kilometres southeast of Tasmania near New Zealand, with a subsequent aftershock 6.1 a little later in the morning that same day.
Then on December 26 the magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck leading to the devastating tsunami that killed more than 300,000 people.
On December 27, 20 whales beached themselves 180 kilometres west of Hobart on the southern island state of Tasmania.
http://www.energy-pedia.com/article.a…
As part of Budget 2009 a total of $20 million over three years will be allocated to the seismic data acquisition programme run by Crown Minerals, which is responsible for the administration and promotion of New Zealand’s oil and gas.
LINKS TO THE OTHER THREE VIDEOS IN THIS SERIES can be found by locating the video at Youtube. The other videos will be there on the side bar to the right.
For more in depth information and interviews on seismic testing, the oil industry and the agenda of foreign oil companies here in our waters listen to three interviews with Rose Paige from thecontrail.com This is info you won’t be hearing in mainstream any time soon :
Note: Brodifacoum is a serious rat poison, an anti-coagulant which kills the things that eat it over a long period of time. It has secondary by-kill on animals / things that eat things that have been killed by it. Instead of slathering poison everywhere it’s time surely that NZ considered eco friendly extermination of pests, given our clean green classification is long gone. So also is our edible wild food. And not only were all the wekas exterminated at Tawhitinui Island, but the following also:
Nearly 60% of the Tawharanui Regional Park dotterel population died through eating brodifacoum baits and poisoned sand-hoppers (2004)
Brodifacoum residues continued to be found in wildlife more than 24 months after the brodifacoum poison drop in and around the Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project in Nelson (2005)
The Rangitoto and Motutapu Island eradication by-kill included dolphins, penguins, fish, numerous dogs and birds
Vast numbers of dead mussels washed up on Waiheke Island up to five months after the poison drop
Hundreds of dead birds also washed up on Coromandel Peninsula beaches in the months following (2009)
More than 10,000 seagulls were killed in Shakespear Regional Park (2011)
I don’t live in Nelson so dropping 26.5 tonnes of brodifacoum poison into the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary won’t affect me directly, but I care a lot about New Zealand wildlife. I’m the Waikato Regional Councillor for Taupo-Rotorua, and the current Chair of the Environmental and Services Performance Committee.
ACRE, a group that advises Waikato Regional Council, asked councillors to look into our use of brodifacoum during our last Long Term Plan. They were concerned about the bio-accumulation and persistence of brodifacoum in wildlife, and the implications for our food chain. Our EPC Chair at the time, Clyde Graf, agreed to a review.
We invited Penny Fisher, a scientist at Landcare Research to give us readings about brodifacoum and other second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide residues in wildlife. She did a teleconference with our committee; We gathered information from other councils and government agencies and we looked at what’s happening overseas.
A lot of the New Zealand data about brodifacoum by-kill concerned me:
The entire western weka population was exterminated in a brodifacoum drop on Tawhitinui Island (1984); Nearly 60% of the Tawharanui Regional Park dotterel population died through eating brodifacoum baits and poisoned sand-hoppers (2004); Brodifacoum residues continued to be found in wildlife more than 24 months after the brodifacoum poison drop in and around the Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project in Nelson (2005); The Rangitoto and Motutapu Island eradication by-kill included dolphins, penguins, fish, numerous dogs and birds. Vast numbers of dead mussels washed up on Waiheke Island up to five months after the poison drop. Hundreds of dead birds also washed up on Coromandel Peninsula beaches in the months following (2009); More than 10,000 seagulls were killed in Shakespear Regional Park (2011);
Blue cod, mussels, limpets and birds had brodifacoum residues in them after the Ulva Island drop, prompting restrictions on harvesting. Dead robin nestlings on the island were found to have brodifacoum residues, indicating that poisoned invertebrates had been fed to the young birds. Nearly 90% of the weka population was also killed (2011); Brodifacoum and other anticoagulant residues were found in freshwater fish, eels and sediment in Southland (2012); After Great Mercury Island was poisoned, 16 dead seals and a multitude of birds and fish washed up dead on Coromandel beaches (2014); A Landcare Research study of road-killed harrier hawks revealed 78% of those tested had at least one anticoagulant rodenticide in them. Some had as many as four different types. Brodifacoum was common.
It’s dangerous stuff, no doubt.
I asked Auckland Council for the results of their monitoring of feral pigs on islands in the Hauraki Gulf. The reply stated that 13 out of 14 pigs tested positive for brodifacoum residues. Brodifacoum has now been confirmed in fish, shellfish, pigs, bats, deer, eels and birds across New Zealand, which is a concern for those who hunt and fish. There’s also concern for those who commercially harvest wildlife. MPI notified a restricted procurement area for feral pigs in Marlborough due to high levels of brodifacoum residues in pig livers in 2004.
Why would we use brodifacoum when our own scientists have expressed concern about residues persisting in the environment?
Penny Fisher said in 2013 in her Overview/Summary – Environmental Residues of Anticoagulants Used for Pest Control, 10 June 2013.
“There is increasing evidence that uses of anticoagulants for both household rodent control and field pest management are resulting in widespread contamination of both terrestrial and aquatic wildlife. The latter is presumably through carcasses of poisoned animals entering waterways ….”
According to MPI, brodifacoum is the most inhumane toxin we’ve got, causing pain and suffering for days to weeks before an animal succumbs to internal haemorrhaging. Apart from the lethal effects, brodifacoum also causes sub-lethal reproductive and developmental damage. Would you choose to use brodifacoum if you knew it was also going to harm and kill the native species you’re trying to protect?
Personally, I’d prefer to find another method of pest control that’s acceptable to the Nelson community. There are plenty of alternatives.
Kathy White is the Waikato Regional Councillor for Taupo-Rotorua and the current Chair of the Environmental and Services Performance Committee. This is her personal view.
Environmental Health Watch NZ 
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