Spreading pollution strangling New Zealand freshwater species: gov't report

Almost three quarters of New Zealand's native fish species are threatened with or at risk of extinction as pollution of its waterways worsens, according to a government report out Thursday.

New Zealand's rivers and lakes are under increasing pressure, according to the latest national report from the Ministry for the Environment and the government's Statistics New Zealand agency about the state of fresh water.

The report measured the quality of our waterways, water quantity and flows, biodiversity in rivers and lakes, as well as the cultural health of fresh water.

It found nitrogen levels were getting worse at 55 percent and better at 28 percent of monitored river sites, while phosphorus levels were getting better at 42 percent and getting worse at 25 percent.

Of the 39 native fish species monitored, 72 percent were either threatened with or at risk of extinction.

"This report confirms our urban waterways are the most polluted, but we are seeing more declining trends in pastoral areas and it's important we do something about it now and continue to track any progress," Secretary for the Environment Vicky Robertson said in a statement.

"The implications for our freshwater species are really critical," she said.

"Many of our species are found nowhere else in the world so it is even more crucial we don't lose any under our watch. We need to consider the resilience of all species in any decisions we make that affect the environment."

Environment Minister Nick Smith said the report highlighted how fresh water challenges varied significantly across the country and that the problems had arisen due to agricultural and urban development over many decades.

"It confirms New Zealand's most significant fresh water quality challenge is diffuse nitrate pollution. The problem is worst in urban environments but the negative effects impact on a greater number of rivers and lakes in rural, pastoral environments," Smith said in a statement.

The government was working on tighter regulation of nutrients, new provisions for protecting water ecology and the development of good management practice for farmers and other water users, he said.

Environment campaigners said the report was the latest evidence that New Zealand's fresh waterways were in serious trouble, with the worst pollution driven by the expansion and intensification of dairy farming.

The Forest and Bird group pointed out that while the report made the point that nitrate-nitrogen concentration in urban areas was 18 times higher than native forested catchments, compared to 10 times higher in rural areas, only 1 percent of New Zealand was urban, while 40 percent was pastoral.

"Therefore the magnitude of the problem is far greater than this statistic would suggest," freshwater advocate Annabeth Cohen said in a statement.

In the last 10 years, the dairy cow population had grown at nearly three times the rate of the human population.

"Our freshwater is in crisis, and the primary cause is intensifying land use associated with dairy farming," said Cohen.

The opposition Green Party called for a moratorium on new dairy farms, and an end to subsidies for the large irrigation schemes that promoted unsustainable intensive farming in environments that were unsuitable for such farming.

"This report shows worsening nitrogen pollution, primarily from agriculture, which, along with phosphorus, causes excessive weed growth and can make water unsafe to drink," Green Party water spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said in a statement. Endit