'Penguins will not lose their homes': Plans laid out for kororā at Waiheke marina site
Wednesday, 19 May 2021
Little penguins will not lose their homes during construction of a marina on Auckland’s Waiheke Island, an expert says.
Dr Leigh Bull was engaged by the marina developer to carry out an independent review of its kororā monitoring plans after local residents, mana whenua and environmental groups raised concerns.
They were worried dismantling part of the rock breakwater could displace penguins from their burrows and potentially force moulting penguins to flee into the sea, where they risk drowning.
Bull said she was confident kororā would go to neighbouring rocks within the breakwater if they returned at nightfall during the period when the rocks were removed.
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Bull, an ecological consultant with a background in seabirds, said the end of April to the end of June would be the best time for work to happen on the rock wall because it is non-breeding season, when penguins stay away feeding during the day.
Once the breeding season starts, burrows are likely to be permanently occupied if an egg is being incubated.
If anti-marina campaigners are successful in their bid to get the High Court to issue a stop work order until a substantive hearing on July 29, work on the rock wall would have to be delayed until next year.
The case was heard on Friday and the judge’s decision is expected soon.
One of Bull’s recommendations was to install motion sensor cameras at the site, so workers will be able to track whether there are any penguins present.
She said while the developer’s original protection plans complied with the consent conditions, they focused on how to manage construction, rather than how to manage kororā.
She will write a new bird-focused plan, which will ensure breeding birds will not be moved, penguins will not lose their homes, and considerable efforts will be made to identify whether any birds are present before work is done.
The developer has accepted all of Bull’s recommendations.
Director Tony Mair said this was about more than simply meeting the consent conditions.
“Our team care about the penguins too and we are committed to ensuring that they are not only protected during construction but are looked after long-term,” he said.
“We will be guided by Dr Bull and her team as to how best to do this.”
Save Kennedy Point (SKP), which has been fighting the marina plans through the courts since 2017, had another Supreme Court appeal rejected on Wednesday.
It made a second application for the court to recall its judgment after saying the court made a mistake. The application was dismissed.