Slowed the fast ferries
Intense lobbying led to council bylaws limiting fast-ferry speeds. Since 2020 we have pressed for ferries and large ships to use the northern entrance instead of Tory Channel. The ferry record
About the Guardians
An independent watchdog for the Marlborough Sounds, run by volunteers since residents first came together over ferry wash.
Our story
Guardians of the Sounds began with a large group of Tōtaranui / Queen Charlotte Sound residents concerned about the devastating effects fast-ferry wash was having on the foreshore and on people's safety. In the 1990s, with the support of the Department of Conservation and Te Ātiawa, the group asked the Environment Court to slow the ferries down. That bid failed in 1995, but the lobbying continued, and Marlborough District Council bylaws now limit the speed of fast ferries. The foreshore has been recovering since.
Many other issues needing community input were identified across the Sounds. To give the community a voice, the Guardians became an incorporated society in August 2000. The Guardians' charter covers all the Sounds within the jurisdiction of the Marlborough District Council.
“To ensure that the natural environment, water quality, ecological biodiversity, safety of people and wildlife of the Marlborough Sounds and surrounds are managed wisely both now and in the future.”
Our primary role is that of environmental watchdog: to make sure the Sounds are managed sustainably for present and future generations of New Zealanders. We remain an independent lobby group, as we always have been.
What the Guardians have done
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Filmed the seabed under mussel farms
Our underwater video found plague-like numbers of eleven-armed starfish below mussel lines, and the Ministry of Fisheries made it a research priority. In 2020 we paid for a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) survey used as evidence on an open-ocean salmon farm.
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Held salmon farming to account
We helped form the Sustain Our Sounds coalition against NZ King Salmon's 2011 plan change, organised the 2012 protest flotilla, opposed the 2017 farm relocations, and in 2021 opposed the bid to relax compliance rules, which was refused. The salmon record
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Campaigned against methyl bromide in Picton
We led public meetings, rallies in Picton and Blenheim and a submission to the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) on log fumigation at the port. Our ERMA submission (PDF, 64 KB)
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Moved logs by barge instead of road
We lobbied the council and Marlborough Roads to replace about 100 logging trucks a day on the Port Underwood and Waikawa roads with barging from Onapua Bay to Shakespeare Bay.
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Spoke up for fish stocks
Members sat on the Blue Cod Working Group. In 2019 the Minister added a hand-gathering-only condition and a catch-spreading plan for sea cucumber after our submission.
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Totaras for Totaranui and free school units
Volunteers planted 745 native trees, and we published two free units of work for schools. Totaras for Totaranui unit (PDF, 1.7 MB) and the Captain Cook and HMS Endeavour unit (PDF, 1.8 MB)
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Brought residents' associations together
We host meetings of Sounds residents' associations so communities can share information and be heard. We also helped win free overnight berthage for residents with boat-only access. The associations
The issues we watch
The Sounds community has identified these concerns. By pooling information and expertise, solutions come sooner.
- Rapid expansion of aquaculture
- Salmon and mussel farms, their waste and their footprint on the seabed.
- Water quality
- Sediment from forestry harvest and slips, and nutrients from farms.
- Depletion of fish stocks
- Blue cod, scallops, sea cucumber and the habitats they depend on.
- Forestry effects
- Harvest rules in the coastal environment, wilding pines and log transport.
- Wildlife and native bush
- Pest control, Hector's dolphin, king shag and native forest.
- Council planning
- The Marlborough Environment Plan, its variations and the decisions made under it.
- A Maritime National Park
- We promote permanent protection for the Marlborough Sounds.
Our goals
We want an integrated management system in which Marlborough District Council, residents' associations and Sounds user groups decide together, so that the people most affected by decisions about the Sounds have a real say.
Our goals and future activities include encouraging research, such as a baseline survey of the seabed below mussel farms; education, so people of all ages understand the biodiversity of the Sounds and the need to conserve it; and tackling problems together, because pooled information and expertise get to solutions sooner.
How you can help
All of us can start by setting a good example at home and at work with environmentally friendly practices.
Become a community watchdog for environmental issues in your area. Network through your residents' association and bring issues to the Guardians' attention. We will put you in touch with people who have dealt with the same or similar problems; they may be able to advise, or want to form a working group.
You can support the Guardians by joining, by giving time and skills to working groups, and by donating. As a non-profit society we need help to cover administration and project costs.