By Michael Morrah
Papamoa Beach residents woke this morning to the nightmare they’d been warned of – thick layers of oil coating the coastline.
Along with the oil, the high tide brought ashore dozens of dead seabirds that volunteers have spent the day cleaning up.
Wildlife experts expect to have collected around 500 dead birds by the end of the day and many more will wash ashore in the coming days.
Papamoa local Paul Kays found an Albatross and two others this morning – they’d simply been overwhelmed by the oil.
“Three were found within 20 feet of each other, so if you extrapolate that out over the 20km coast, there must be hundreds and hundreds of birds,” he says.
He was right; as volunteers hit the beach, collection bags quickly filled up.
Department of Conservation Marine Ranger Bryan Williams said a number of Petrel species had been picked up as well as a little blue penguin.
The few that managed to emerge from the oil slick alive – just 26 – are being washed. But most aren’t this lucky.
“We think we’ll see up to 500 dead birds by the end of the day. The teams are picking up large numbers of them,” says Massey University Wildlife Director Brett Gartrell.
On Papamoa beach it was easy to see why this is being called New Zealand’s worst environmental disaster. The implications are massive; shellfish beds off this coast may not recover for years.
Residents have been told to stay away – but many aren’t listening.
“Get in amongst and do it – who cares if it’s toxic. What about the beach? I want to show my son the beach, not an oil slick,” says resident Ross Harper.
“This is their home being ruined. Goodbye golden sand. They’ve called it the Bay of Death, the Bay of Oil. The Bay of Plenty is gone,” says Kay Hennessy.
It’s currently low tied on Papamoa Beach and locals have contributed by picking up bucket loads of the thick black sludge. Army personnel have also stepped in to help.
But with more oil leaking from the stricken ship, this is a job that will take weeks – not days.
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