Island Bay strikes deal to give nature a helping hand

ANDREW GORRIE/The Dominion Post

SOMETHING IN THE AIR: Campaigner Margaret Davis is overjoyed Wellington City Council is to clean up the overly fragrant seaweed that litters Island Bay beach.

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A compromise solution has been found that will remove piles of smelly seaweed left on Island Bay beach after the creation of a marine reserve at Wellington's south coast.

Hundreds of residents petitioned the city council, asking it to clear the beach, but their pleas were ignored. The council believed it could not remove the seaweed because it was protected by the marine reserve status that came into force in August last year.

It has now agreed to clear the beach above the high-tide mark, which it will do once a month during summer, the council's acting city services director, Paul Andrews, said. "We will push the seaweed back into the sea when a northerly is blowing. That is what we have done previously and it seems to work."

The work would be done after a big southerly blast, which pushes debris up the beach, or before big events, such as the Island Bay Festival.

"To be frank it is a compromise on our part ... but sometimes you just have to accept that a compromise is needed."

Beach campaigner Margaret Davis was thrilled the council was finally taking action. "We have got a slice of the cake and not just the crumbs that we thought we would get.

"But we will wait and see how well it works because we are not sure it goes far enough."

The seaweed will be cleared from a section of beach in front of the surf life-saving club from January to March.

Next winter the council will plant native plants to bind the sand dunes on the eastern side of the surf club to see whether they can help to prevent the amount of sand blowing off the beach.

The Taputeranga Marine Reserve stretches 2.3 kilometres out to sea from Owhiro Bay to Houghton Bay.

- © Fairfax NZ News