TOP STORY: Didymo terror threat for Bay

23rd August 2007

REBECCA HARPER

An alleged threat to release the ecologically destructive freshwater pest didymo into the Waiau River near Wairoa has led to a police investigation which is likely to result in charges being laid.

Police have confirmed a 55-year-old Wairoa man may face charges resulting from the alleged threat which, if carried out, would lead to the invasive pest spreading throughout the region.

Didymo, commonly known as rock snot, is present only in South Island waterways and conservationists said its release in the North Island would be a biosecurity disaster. The freshwater alga forms massive blooms and thick growth can negatively impact on fish, plant, and invertebrate species, by reducing habitats. The aesthetic impacts on river and lake users are also high.

Police last week searched a Wairoa house after a man threatened to release the water-borne pest into the Waiau River.

The threat was allegedly made at the Wairoa Department of Conservation office on August 7.

The man had objected to DOC's use of the poison brodifacoum to control rats and possums. The poison was commonly used to supplement 1080 and was an option once possum numbers were low.

Police and the Ministry of Agriculture took the threat seriously and an investigation was launched into the incident.

Detective Sergeant Mick Lander of the Wairoa police said liquid samples were taken from a Wairoa house last week after it was searched by police, a MAF investigator and a scientist.

The samples were sent for didymo analysis and returned with a negative result.

Mr Lander said the man was likely to face criminal charges under the Crimes Act.

Didymo is an unwanted organism under the Biosecurity Act 1993.