Niwa's dead didymo gaffe

Dead algae cells were brought north on research vial lids from a Christchurch laboratory, reports Warwick Rasmussen.

The Government agency responsible for keeping the country's waterways clean was yesterday confirmed as the source of dead cells of the invasive algae didymo it said was found in North Island waterways last month.

It was revealed yesterday by Biosecurity Minister Jim Anderton that the cells were taken from a Christchurch Niwa laboratory to the North Island in vial lids.

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research's chief executive John Morgan says he is baffled as to how they got on the lids in the first place.

Last month's "discovery" of the dead cells after samples were taken in the North Island sent shockwaves through the fishing sector. Niwa announced the invasive algae, also known as "rock snot", had been found in four waterways the Tongariro, Whakapapa, Mangatepopo and Whanganui Rivers.

Mr Anderton yesterday said the joint ministry and Niwa investigation traced the contamination back to Christchurch.

"The investigations found that pottle lids sent to Turangi were contaminated with microscopic amounts of dead didymo cells," Mr Anderton said.

The vials and lids were sent north for Niwa to conduct water testing on behalf of Genesis Energy.

"The lids were held in storage prior to being sent to the North Island for use in sampling," said Mr Anderton. At the time, the lab in question was being used to weigh dried, freeze-dried and burnt (dead) didymo samples as part of other research projects, he said.

No live didymo cells could have been transferred to the North Island, he said.

Mr Morgan yesterday said public confidence in the organisation he has headed for the past seven months should not be in question.

"I don't think it's a blow at all," he said. "It was an unusual situation."

Mr Morgan said the vials and lids were all new and were sealed and wrapped in separate boxes. He said the dead cells may have been transported by air, but could not confirm that scenario.

"We're still continuing our investigations into how they got there."

Mr Morgan said staff directly involved were extremely frustrated at what had happened, but he stopped short of calling it an embarrassment for the organisation, which is responsible for protecting the sustainability of the nations's waterways.

Mr Morgan said a full review of handling procedures was already under way.

Taupo Trout Guides' Brendon Mathews said his first reaction to Mr Anderton's announcement was "relief", but he still had little confidence in the Government's ability to keep didymo out of the North Island.

"There's been a lot of uncertainty down here over the past few weeks. This (didymo) is a ticking timebomb that won't go away."

He said Biosecurity New Zealand wasn't doing enough to stop the algae from making its way north at the moment didymo is only in South Island waterways.

If it did make it into the south of the Waikato-Taupo region, didymo could jeopardise the area's $250 million trout fishing industry.

- © Fairfax NZ News