Coast council looking for fuel spill after boat sinks
From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
The sinking of the ex-fishing trawler Grace yesterday and any associated risk of fuel spill was not notified to the West Coast Regional Council today.
The fishing boat sank at its moorings at the Greymouth Fisherman's Wharf, on the Blaketown Lagoon, yesterday.
Acting consents and compliance manager Rachel Clark said the first they knew of the sinking was when they were contacted by the media.
Port of Greymouth manager Franco Horridge was in Christchurch today.
Clark said the council would usually be alerted by the port management of any sinking so they could dispatch environmental monitoring staff to assess any risk.
"Fuel would be a concern. Generally the harbour, if it was only a small spill, would deal with it."
Owner David Coakley told the Greymouth Star today that he learned of the boat's watery fate last evening, and was today waiting for low tide to begin the retrieval.
That would involve straightening it, fixing the holes in the vessel and pumping it out.
Coakley has owned the Grace since 1989.
"It's fished out of a lot of ports in the South Island," he said.
At 1pm the regional council said staff visiting the site, about midday, found "no major spill".
"A precautionary containment boom has been deployed around the vessel and will be maintained until it is salvaged," Clark said.
*Public interest journalism funded through NZ On Air.
Best way to use leftovers?
I'm sure you've got some excess ham at home or cold roast potatoes.
What are some of your favourite ways to use leftover food from Christmas day? Share below.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.8% Summer
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36.7% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
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