Environment Southland investigating tourism company's moorings in national park

Friday, 8 April 2022

Environment Southland is investigating after complaints were received about RealNZ’s moorings in Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound.

Environment Southland is investigating four of RealNZ’s moorings in Fiordland National Park after receiving complaints from boaties that they take up too much space.

RealNZ has existing resource consents for two swing moorings at Harrison Cove, in Milford Sound, that were issued in 2012. Earlier this year it upgraded them to multi-anchored leg moorings.

This year it also put two moorings at First Arm in Doubtful Sound and at Cascade Cove in Dusky Sound. Both of these have approved resource consents, but some boat users believe these moorings are too large and potentially could cause navigational hazards.

Environment Southland integrated catchment management general manager Paul Hulse said: “If the moorings in Harrison Cove were changed from what the current consent stipulates, this would be likely to require a new application for the appropriate category of consent.’’

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The 2012 consents were issued to occupy the coastal marine area with a swing mooring, not the new multi-anchor leg mooring systems that had been installed, he said.

The regional council was investigating after there had been a small amount of complaints about the moorings, Hulse said.

“As a result of the complaints we have received, an investigation is under way to establish if the new moorings meet the requirements of those consents. There is also a further investigation relating to compliance with two existing consents in Harrison Cove.”

“While the investigations are under way into these concerns, we are unable to make any further comment. No decision on the next steps can be made until the investigation is complete.’’

RealNZ chief executive officer Stephen England-Hall said the company upgraded its existing moorings in Harrison Cove in Milford Sound to multi-anchor leg mooring systems.

The anchors used for the new moorings were screwed into the seabed using a helical screw pile, he said.

When asked whether the upgrade to the moorings at Harrison Cove required a new consent, he replied: '’we have existing consents for our moorings at Harrison Cove, and consents for our new moorings at Cascade Cove and First Arm were granted in February 2022.’’

The company had opted to install multi-anchor leg mooring systems because they were superior, offering significant environmental and safety advantages over swing moorings including no seabed disturbance, reduced swing area, and greater holding power, he said.

The anchors are screwed into the seabed using a helical screw pile. Screwing the helical screw piles into the seabed bears no resemblance to drilling and causes virtually no disturbance to the seabed. A vessel anchoring would have more impact, he said.

DOC Te Anau operations manager John Lucas said it was aware of concerns surrounding RealNZ’s moorings in the Fiordland Coastal Marine Area.

The Harrison Cove moorings required a Marine Reserve Authorisation from DOC. He said an application for one mooring was received in October 2021, and this was amended to include a second mooring in February 2022.

The application was still to be processed, he said.

Fiordland Marine Guardians chairperson Rebecca McLeod is concerned the new moorings could be a hazard for other boaties because they differ from classic block and chain systems.

The Guardians have written to Environment Southland with its concerns.

The Guardians said it had also received two reports of incidents where vessels attempting to anchor at First Arm and Cascade Cove were involved in near-misses, when anchor gear became entangled in the new moorings.

The Guardians had received several reports from users of the Fiordland Marine Area where they have expressed their concerns about the location and extent of the moorings, she said.

England-Hall said all moorings represented a potential hazard to navigation.

“Notwithstanding this, Real NZ has taken the necessary steps to minimise the associated navigation risk. The mooring buoys are highly visible and are constructed from steel so will show up on a vessel’s radar. The moorings will also be indicated on marine charts, which will raise awareness of their position among mariners.”

“…using the moorings is safer and has less environmental impact than anchoring.”

Environment Southland had no comment to make on potential navigational concerns raised by the Guardians while it was investigating. It has not given a deadline of when its investigation is likely to conclude.