Whales & seabed mining

The South Taranaki Bight is unique

The South Taranaki Bight is home to rare and endangered animals, including Māui dolphins, Hector’s dolphins and kororā. For some, like a genetically distinct population of pygmy blue whales, it is their only home.

But the South Taranaki Bight is under threat from seabed mining. For more than a decade, Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) have been seeking to plunder the seabed for profit. And now, due to the Fast Track Approvals Bill, the threat of seabed mining is back. We must stop them in their tracks.

Between TTR and the Luxon Government’s Fast Track Bill, the South Taranaki Bight could be the first place in the world to be mined this way. But with your help, we can hold them off.

How bad would seabed mining be?

Seabed mining would be devastating for the fragile ecosystems, wildlife and environment. Below are just some of the risks seabed mining would pose:

• Noise pollution – Seabed mining is a very noisy process. Scientists are concerned that the noise from the seabed mining machines would harm mammals like whales. Many marine mammals rely on sound to communicate, navigate and forage. Studies have found that noise pollution can disrupt this behaviour.
• Destruction of habitats – When scooping up sand, seabed mining would hurt habitats and creatures on the seabed, like coral, anemones and octopus
• Sediment plumes – Seabed mining would also create massive plumes of sand when it is disposed of. These sand plumes would clog corals and sponges and likely smother the animals and ecosystems on its path.
• Blocking green investment – The South Taranaki Bight was set to be the site of an offshore wind farm. This project has now been cancelled, as it’s incompatible with Trans-Tasman Resource’s seabed mining plans.

The scariest thing is we don’t yet know the full consequences that seabed mining would have. If approved, Trans-Tasman Resources would be the first large-scale seabed mining project in the world.

But one thing is for sure: protecting nature is more important than the profits of Trans-Tasman Resources.