Daily review 04/09/2020

21 comments on “Daily review 04/09/2020 ”

• Comments are now closed

1. Ad 1

   4 September 2020 at 6:02 pm

   Great to see the Golden Bay Tarakohe Port rebuild and expansion get the $20m to go ahead.

   Its about $35m all up.

   Excellent Mussell Farm expansion.

   Well done Winston and the Labour team for that one.
   • Stuart Munro 1.1

     4 September 2020 at 9:54 pm

     It's a lovely port, sure. But mussels are a sign of lack of imagination in our aquaculture sector, and the chief reason we get one of the world's lowest per kilo prices for our seafood exports. The mussel farming longline system came out of the DSIR in the 1970s, when the object was producing health supplements believed to be effective against arthritis, and it is a damning indictment of our marine research that we have come no further since then. Mussel farming, like dairy or salmon cages, has an appreciable effect on the environment, and the harbour, like Shaw's school, is a pretty direct gift to an already well capitalized operator.

     Winston & Gnasher still being pawns of the industry is no surprise to anyone who noted the munting of the QMS review, but scarcely cause for celebration. The industry is in a rut, and not about to bring itself up to world standards without government leadership, but being neoliberal the government doesn't think it's their job.
     • Ad 1.1.1

       5 September 2020 at 4:32 am

       Mussel exports have continued to grow consistently for many years, and have much lower effects than other farmed species like Salmon because they filter their own water. The only negative effect I can see is that the farms tend to fence out big marine animals.

       The farming expansion here is also well outside the Marlborough Sounds where Salmon farming have been the issue.

       https://www.aquaculture.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/New-Zealand-Aquaculture-facts-2018.pdf

       The mussel industry has grown at about 11% per year here, and there's still plenty of upside for profitable growth.

       https://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/marine/aquaculture-risk-management-options/appendix-1-aquaculture-industry-new-zealand

       And of course the Greenshell Mussel is a native to us, so farming them has made them one of the most plentiful and least endangered forms of our seafood protein. ie it's one of our most sustainable forms of seafood.

       2,100 hectares of Marlborough mussel farms generate as much good food as over 500,000 hectares of land farming sheep.

       https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/aquaculture/

       At some point we're going to have to celebrate the investments this government is making, instead of seeking reasons to bitch all over them.
       • Stuart Munro 1.1.1.1

         5 September 2020 at 9:29 am

         At some point we're going to have to celebrate the investments this government is making, instead of seeking reasons to bitch all over them.

         If government want people to celebrate their achievements they need to start getting things right. Mussels are not a free lunch, they take a lot of feed out of the water, and where the farms are dense the growth rate and thus the yearly ROI is significantly depressed. It's quite desirable to grow the species that gives the best return on that finite feed resource, and in Golden Bay there are several other species that return quite a bit more per shelled kilo than the mussels. Scallops. Oysters. Geoduck clams. But traditionally, mostly scallops.

         Now, the Golden Bay scallops collapsed a few years back, as fisheries under the dysfunctional QMS regime invariably do. A black anoxic layer of suspended fine organic matter choked the beds, presumably coming down the river from the increased dairy activity in the area. Has this been fixed? Have freshwater regulations been imposed that will address this undesirable outcome – of course not – neoliberal government you see – they're only there for the free lunches. And they expect to be congratulated for their failures and sulk if they are not.
         • francesca 1.1.1.1.1

           5 September 2020 at 10:22 am

           Actually , when things came to a head, the Mussel farmers and dairy farmers got together to find solutions to the degraded water quality .The Mussel industry relies on good water values

           The Aorere farmers to a large degree have attempted to retard siltation , by fencing off their waterways and planting riparian strips(probably not wide enough though )

           But doesn't the scallop dredging munt the sea floor?

           There is evidence that underneath the Mussel farms, the seabed is regenerating

           The Mussel farms also act as de facto no fishing zones , while providing snapper with food

           The hugest objection to Mussel farms in Golden Bay is firstly the noise of the Mussel barge thumping across the bay at 5am, and also the detritus of ropes and buoys after every storm

           Mind you, there's money in them there buoys for those who live on the coastline
           • Stuart Munro 1.1.1.1.1.1

             5 September 2020 at 10:55 am

             There are lots of issues on the path to an ideal solution. Changing scallops for mussels is a downgrade. Restoring the scallops is a breakeven. The ideal solution might include suspended scallop culture or geoduck farming, or better yet an integrated culture approach.

             There is some evidence that dense mussel farms, particularly in the sounds, suppress finfish populations – except for spotties, which reach plague proportions. Scallop dredging can cause damage, but over flat soft bottoms it doesn't have to.

             But there is a trope in the NZ fishing industry, to bulk produce the lowest value product, which is apparent in our export breakdown – anomalously high production of fillet block and twice-cooked mussels. More successful and sustainable fisheries take more of an artisanal approach.

             Friend of mine got 5kg of mussels in Korea as a Chuseok gift. They were huge by Korean standards, but small compared to NZ greenshells. Over $500 in value, that box, but fresh NZ alternatives were not available – only the tasteless twice-cooked frozen halfshell rubbish.
             • francesca …

               5 September 2020 at 11:03 am

               Yes I do agree about suspended scallop farming, if its possible

               The seabed in Golden Bay has been absolutely and heartbreakingly munted by scallop fishing bonanzas
               • greywarshark …

                 5 September 2020 at 12:02 pm

                 Good forward thinking from you two SM and fransesca. I hope that your ideas will be promulgated. (A nice big word to make them sound important enough to be listened to by the PTB, who can't afford to adopt simple, straightforward facts as it would appear then that someone else could do their job better and cheaper. Peter's Principle.)
                 • Stuart Munro …

                   5 September 2020 at 5:19 pm

                   Sadly, the funding of this little exercise demonstrates that neither ordinary environmental prudence nor an informed treatment of the resource is on the cards. The industry is being subsidized to do as they might have done in the 1970s, and the idea that they might develop responsibly as other countries do is considered a dangerous radicalism.
             • Draco T Bastard …

               5 September 2020 at 12:27 pm

               But there is a trope in the NZ fishing industry , to bulk produce the lowest value product

               That seems to be true of all farming in NZ. Its why Fontera export milk powder rather than cheeses.
               • greywarshark …

                 5 September 2020 at 12:36 pm

                 Have Fonterra or other ever done tests on our butter for Vitamin A content which ought to show up as coming from grass-fed cows?
2. Cinny 2

   4 September 2020 at 6:18 pm

   Yeah !!!! Now that's what I'm talking about Government funded camera's on commercial fishing vessels. Awesomesauce !
   • Herodotus 2.1

     4 September 2020 at 6:31 pm

     To wait until 2023 for the 1st group and the remainder by 2024, better late than never. Hopefully post election we can also see the Kermadec sanctuary progress. Personally I would like some around the Auckland harbour eg Tiritiri 400m+ our from the island. And a few around the bay of islands to complement tourist activities like the one just out of Gisborne.
     • Gabby 2.1.1

       4 September 2020 at 6:42 pm

       Gnashie hoping that gives SurpyDurpy Telly enough time to clear out the pesky dolphins.
     • Draco T Bastard 2.1.2

       4 September 2020 at 10:30 pm

       Tourist industries were gone about six months ago. They ain't coming back in the foreseeable future.
       • Herodotus 2.1.2.1

         5 September 2020 at 10:37 am

         By tourist I was also including day trippers from the area. As you have stated overseas tourism is current no go. And such reserves are a win:win 🥳 on all aspects.
         • Draco T Bastard 2.1.2.1.1

           5 September 2020 at 12:21 pm

           I'm in favour of the reserves but not the tourism.

           And considering the state of our fish stocks I think we're at the point where we should probably just do a full commercial fishing ban for 20 years.
3. Patricia Bremner 3

   4 September 2020 at 7:50 pm

   So sorry for the family losing their loved one to covid. A reminder that sadly not all recover.
   • weka 3.1

     4 September 2020 at 7:58 pm

     sobering too.
4. lprent 4

   4 September 2020 at 8:57 pm

   The Standard will be probably be down for while. We have a power outage and limited time on UPS.

   No information on how long until the outage gets fixed.

   Damn I knew I should have updated the batteries.
5. Stuart Munro 5

   4 September 2020 at 10:44 pm

   American comic using Republican logic to defend villains.

   Sep 1, 2020Replying to @gregmlarsen

   I know it’s not someone but COVID-19

   

   Greg Larsen

   @gregmlarsen

   Literally the hardest working virus in 2020. Creating healthcare work, bringing people together, and by every measurable standard a raging success in the virus world but that doesn't fit the leftist narrative of "success = evil"

   3:13 AM · Sep 1, 2020

• Comments are now closed

• Log in
• Donate
• Contribute post

• Articles RSS