Disaster cancels fishing contests | Rotorua News | Local News in Rotorua

The full implications of the grounding of the MV Rena on Astrolabe Reef in the Bay of Plenty could take years to sink in but fishing tournaments are already being cancelled.

Oil leaking from the vessel and debris from containers which have fallen from it have been washing up on beaches from Tauranga to Maketu and the westerly wind Eastern Bay of Plenty residents have dreaded arrived yesterday afternoon. They are now waiting for oil to arrive on their beaches.

The area is already included in Bay of Plenty Regional Council's vessel exclusion zone.

Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Marine Studies and Environmental Management group leader Dean Tully told The Daily Post it was too early to speculate on the long-term effects of the spill on the region but he expected years of monitoring would be needed.

"We have to sort this problem out first and to be honest, I don't think we understand the full implications of the spill just yet."

Mr Tully said there was a lot of concern among academics and scientists were working together to come up with solutions. However, he did not think the damage would be beyond repair.

"I'm sure it will eventually recover but when that will happen is another question. I'm told the clean up would be a lot easier due to the relatively sandy coastline," he said.

"This is a really sad event but hopefully it's not as bad as it could potentially be."

There were many views about what could happen, Mr Tully said.

Saltwater fishing columnist for The Daily Post, Graham Andrews, said his immediate concern was for the recreational fishing trade and associated industries.

Mr Andrews said tourist operations like dolphin watching, tours to White Island and fishing charters would suffer as well as their land-based support businesses.

"We see the pictures of the globs of oil on the sand but that's not the real disaster, that can be cleaned up. The impact will be felt by accommodation providers, tackle and bait shops and fishing competitions.

"The impact could be felt a long way down the track. Recreational fishing generates a lot of money in the Bay and that could be lost. We have a potential disaster for the whole fishing industry in the region," Mr Andrews said.

Tauranga Game Fishing Club captain (Fishing) Ray Holmes said an inter-club competition scheduled for the end of October had already been cancelled and any competition before Christmas was in doubt.

Club members from around the region would miss out on a summer of fishing, he said.

"I would be 99.9 per cent certain that the snapper and kingfish competition in November will also be cancelled. There could be containers floating around out there too.

"It's more of a cautionary thing but who would want to eat contaminated fish anyway?"

Mr Holmes said organisers were annoyed by the situation but there was little they could do.

"It's going to be a lot worse for the people near the beaches."

Mr Holmes said there was a possibility that only offshore fishing competitions would be held this summer.

A Whakatane Sportfishing Club spokesman said this weekend's New World Whakatane and Ocean Ford 2011 Fish Fever Tournament had been postponed due to the navigation hazard presented by the MV Rena and containers lost from on board.

He said it would be held on Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October 30.

More on the disaster, p8