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We have made our position very clear to the Port Company and district council that the Picton community find methyl bromide fumigations on the scale and volume of up to 3 tons of Methyl bromide at a time is a completely unacceptable health and safety risk and we will keep campaigning to achieve those ends.
The only acceptable form of fumigation is to use recapture and destruction technology, or to fumigate with other gas that is able to be used at sea.

We don’t know what the standard or parts per million are that you have set, but if they are any less rigorous than Port Nelsons then they should be brought into line with them.
However we suspect that no matter what the Picton community wants you are going to go ahead regardless, profits ahead of people.
Here we have the bazaar situation where a company is poisoning its own shareholders.
However community participation is an important element in the assessment of human health safety and environmental risk as stated in Chapter 17.2.2 of the Sounds Plan. So have drawn on our local knowledge to come up with a section that could be added to your Code of Practice that is Site specific to Port Shakespeare.

We look forward to working together to lobby central govt to bring an end to fumigations in our town. Have gotta say though all it would take is for you guys to say NO fumigations on Port company premises!

Our Sounds Plan states 17.2.3 as its first objective.

“Avoidance or mitigation of adverse effects on the environment and community health presented by the disposal of hazardous substances.”

The Draft Code of Practice can be viewed here

Marlborough District Council Media Statement

The Marlborough District Council will consider including conditions under which fumigants like Methyl bromide may be used at the port of Picton when it drafts the new Marlborough Sounds Resource Management Plan.

Marlborough Mayor Alistair Sowman says at present the use of such fumigants is permitted because the issue is not specifically limited under existing legislation or by way of the current RMA.

Introducing a regime under which consents must be sought from the Council for the use of any such fumigants would allow the Council to impose environmental controls and conditions on their use.

“This would allow the Council to set out fumigant management controls designed to lessen risk to the public,” said Mr Sowman.

The Mayor said the Council’s Environmental Policy Committee would looks to introduce a consent process which required that stringent health and safety standards be met.

“It seems we have to take this step because there’s a gap in the present environmental protection regime,” he said.

However Mr Sowman noted that central government has long been advised that it should take responsibility for resolving the debate about the use of fumigants.

“I have said in the past that this is not simply an issue for Picton and that is still the case. These issues have implications for the practices followed at ports around the country and require a national response,” said Mr Sowman.

Methyl bromide, is a nerve gas developed during WW2 to kill people, in peace time its used as insecticide, its being used to fumigate logs in Picton, up to 3 tons at a time and just being released to atmosphere .

With the right wind conditions, Nor west, ( prevailing wind. ) it will carry over the town.

At night or on cold days the cold inversion layer will hold it around our yards, houses & schools.

This gas is a neuro toxin, that attacks your nervous system, it is known to cause cancer and even limited exposure can effect your organs.

It is tasteless colourless and odourless, they used to use an agent that smelled like rotten eggs so it could be detected, but they stopped using it ,Why ?

The log exporters say it’s a legal activity, so was DTD, and agent Orange at the time, Companies like Zindia and Genera have No social or environmental conscience, that’s why its important to have govt agencies to protect our health and safety.

This is a unique situation where the govt say that because it about our exports its of national importance to allow it to continue, and because the Council , derive revenue from the Port company they wont act.

The MDC need to show leadership, and promulgate a variation to the district plan that will require fumigations to have resource consents with stringent conditions, or identify Picton as an area unsuitable for fumigations .

This is a unique situation where an entire community has stood up and said no more, we will not stand by and let them poison our families.

Please lend us your support for a protest on Thursday the 12^th February outside the Port Company offices on Auckland street, Picton between 12 noon and 1.00 pm.

Pete Beech.

Guardians of the Sounds.

Methyl Bromide Fumigant Bouquet for Picton This Valentines Day

Fumigation Threat Rises Again In Picton

Fumigation of logs with the highly toxic gas methyl bromide is intended to resume in a few weeks at Port Marlborough, Picton. On 14 February this year, fumigation with the neuro-toxic and ozone depleting gas is planned for a shipment of logs for export. In September 2007, this fumigation was stopped.

Methyl bromide gas used for export log fumigation has been vented from Port Marlborough’s Shakespeare Bay facility in the past. This is close to Picton’s wharves and township and was halted in September 2007 following major public meetings organised by Guardians of the Sounds in opposition to the fumigation.

Soil & Health Association spokesperson, Steffan Browning, who raised the methyl bromide issue in Picton, and Guardians Chairman Peter Beech, have been invited to a meeting at Port Marlborough. They will meet with Picton councillors, Port Company officials, the log exporter Zindia and fumigator company Genera on February 3rd (9.30 a.m.) to discuss the February 14th log fumigation at Shakespeare Bay.

“The anger of the community of Picton can be expected to be high,” said Mr Beech, “Port Marlborough, Genera and Zindia all know the feelings of the people, yet appear to be blinded by profit. The 2007 Picton public meetings showed the Marlborough District Council and the Council owned Port Company that the community’s level of tolerance to local toxic fumigation was at an end and public protest can be expected.”

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NIWA recently published a report based on a survey of blue cod in the Marlborough Sounds and Tasman bay.

Download the report and supporting documents as Acrobat Pdf files:
Full report
Map of survey areas
Tabulated data

A brief sample of the conclusion is quoted below:

The Marlborough Sounds and Tasman Bay blue cod fishery is strongly targeted by the recreational sector. Such pressure was correlated with the decline in relative abundance of blue cod between 1995/96 and 2001, as well as the continued decline in DURE and the low catch rates within the inner Sounds and off Separation Point.

The decline in mean size from the outer to the inner Sounds was also attributed to high fishing pressure in the more accessible inner and inshore areas of the Marlborough Sounds (Blackwell 2002, Beentjes & Carbines 2005).

In marked contrast, the mean size and relative abundance of blue cod increased in no-take reserves of outer Queen Charlotte Sound (Cole et al. 2000, Davidson 2001). This is supported by the increase in catch rates in the remote areas of the Sounds (i.e. EQCH, EOPE and DURW) and divers surveys that have shown small blue cod (< 17 cm T.L.) to be widely distributed in the shallow waters of the inner and mid areas of both Sounds (Cole et al. 2001). The sedentary nature of blue cod suggest that the recovery of the inner Sounds is likely to be slow.

More video of Hectors Dolphins in the Marlborough Sounds.
Use the controls below the viewer to start the movie

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