Oiled wildlife facility prepared for more birds

Massey University’s National Oiled Wildlife Response Team has partially re-opened its facility at Te Maunga in Tauranga in anticipation of any newly affected wildlife as a result of the breaking up of the container ship Rena.

Wildlife veterinarian Kerri Morgan, who co-ordinates the team, says Maritime New Zealand believes oil may wash up on the Bay of Plenty coast this evening.

“We have field teams out on a large area of the coast, focusing on Maketu, Little Waihi and Pukehina, where there are populations of the endangered New Zealand dotterel,” she says.

“However, it is important to note that the amount of oil that was left on the Rena is significantly less than what was released last year – we’re talking tens of tonnes not hundreds.”

So far seven oiled little blue penguins had been taken to the facility since Monday, while there are 22 little blue penguins, two fluttering shearwaters and one dotterel in care at Massey University in Palmerston North, where they were taken when the Te Maunga facility was wound down.

Ms Morgan says dotterel expert Dr John Dowding is monitoring the situation along the coastline, where the birds are breeding at the moment. “We pre-emptively captured 60 dotterel when the Rena first ran aground and that was successful so if required we would do that again. Any chicks found would be brought in as well.”

Booms are in place to protect estuaries from oil and debris but Ms Morgan warns they are not guaranteed to be effective.

She says it is uncertain what effect, if any, the debris from the Rena will have on wildlife but teams will be monitoring birds closely in affected areas.