Sub-Antarctic islands

Press, 19 November 1982, Page 20

Sub-Antarctic islands

Sir,—On three occasions recently (September 1, October 14 and 20) “The Press” has featured articles drawing attention to the scientific interest and fragile environments of these five outlying groups, which are administered as nature reserves by the Department of Lands and Survey. Under the Reserves Act it is illegal to moor ships to the shore or land on the islands without a permit. Incredibly, the department has now permitted a Stewart Island fishing vessel to install stern mooring lines on the Snares, the one group unmodified by introduced mammals and which has been suggested as an international biosphere reserve. Given time, stem mooring lines will inevitably lead to colonisation by rats and disaster for the birds and other wildlife there. While the Wild- - life Service is stretched to the limit in trying to conserve remnant bird populations in habitats we have already ruined, Lands and Survey are irresponsibly putting at risk one of our few precious .ecosystems that is still inviolate. God help us!—Yours, etc., ERIC BENNETT.