Lynette Dunn: Mahurangi Oyster Farmers' Association Chair on the million dollar payout from Watercare for sewage spill in the river

North Auckland oyster farmers believe a million dollar payout from Watercare isn't enough to cover their reputational loss. 

A power surge at the Warkworth pump station caused a massive sewage spill in the Mahurangi River, meaning an almost month-long halt to harvesting. 

Watercare's payout to Aquaculture New Zealand will be distributed across 10 impacted oyster farmers. 

Mahurangi Oyster Farmers' Association Chair Lynette Dunn told Ryan Bridge you can't put a price on not being able to harvest good quality oysters. 

She says stories about the wastewater issues mean all oyster farmers in the area have had their reputations damaged. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Water Care is set to pay one million dollars in
settlement to ten oyster farmers affected by a sewage spill.
Around twelve hundred cubic metres of wastewater entered the Maharangi River,
forcing farmers to halt harvesting for nearly a month. And
Net Done is chair of the Oyster Farmers Association Mahudangi
Oyster Farmers Association joining me this morning, the net good morning,
Good morning. So a million bucks, What's how far does

(00:22):
that go?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
It goes between ten farmers, So it's it's basically just
to get over at this little funt that we're just
going through at the moment. But there's further evaluations that
need to be done that need to be sort of
finalized with the amount of demage has been done to
the harbor and the reputation of the Mahangy oyster farmers

(00:47):
over the next two months.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Are there only ten farmers in the area or what
is are there others that have been affected that aren't
getting compensation.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
There's ten farmers in the Maharana Harbor that are part
of the cost center. We have spent catching farmers that
are in the harbor, which They've got big operators. They
catch oysters from the Mahaing and transport them through to
the Corimandel and Cleveden.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
How much do you reckon this has cost the individual farmers.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Everally farmers different, so like every farmer of farms and
their oiter is in a different way. So I can't
really sort of like put an exact pin number on
each farmer.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
What does it do to your your reputation? I mean
if you're now, I mean I'm talking about Mahadania oysters
and I'm talking about sewerage.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah, well, you know the biggest thing is, you know,
like what price do you put on not being able
to swim fish and eat delicious oysters? You know? A
million is not enough each Each and every day the
harvest shut their stories about wastewater and the oysters. Our
reputation as the Mahonging oyster farmers continues just to be
damaged and own it.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
I completely agree with you. And they're not compensating for
that at this point, are they? It does seem it
does seem to be fair to them that lake water
Care is genuinely engaged like listening and talking and paying.
Is that fair.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
For this sance, yes, but not others.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
No, how many others.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
We've had, like I think thirty two thirty five skills
throughout the last year we've been open probably about five
or six weeks for the whole year, So it's been
tougher for every farmer.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
And this is the only one they're paying out for.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
This is one of accepting liability for because it supposedly
was a power food that their pump stations have like failed.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
Lynette, appreciate your trying this morning. Lyn Nette Done, chair
of the Mahangi Oyster Farmers Association. For more from early
edition with Ryan Bridge, some live to news talks. It'd
be from five am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.