More control of reclamations

Press, 4 January 1978, Page 14

More control of reclamations

Stricter penalties for illegal reclamations have been provided to give the public ready access to tidal lands and estuaries, according to the regional marine officer of the Ministry of Transport (Mr J. D. Wisker). “These areas should not be blots on the landscape,” he said. Although the Ministry was not aware of any files gal reclamations in Canterbury, Mr Wisker said, in a number of cases North Island developers had filled in tidal areas without any thought for the environment. The new Harbours Amendment Act, 1977, with its stiffer fines, was aimed primarily at local authorities and other big developers. Mr Wisker said there had been one or two successful prosecutions of councils in the North Island. Fines up to $20,000 can

be imposed under the act for illegal reclamations, and illegal structures — boat-ramps, jetties, or power lines — can bring a fine of up to $5OOO. “We will carry on under existing regulations, but with more teeth now,” said Mr Wisker. “Before, we could go to a major developer with a penalty of only $200.” In an earlier report, the Ministry said that unauthorised reclamations were a serious environmental problem. “Many hundreds of hectares of valuable tidal lands have been lost for ever through such reclamations,” said the Ministry’s chief controller (Mr S. Milne). “Marine scientists have only recently discovered the importance of marshes and estuaries to marine life, especially for providing sheltered areas for young fish,” he said.