He said the lack of suitable facilities is, and would continue to be, a significant cause of non-compliance by a large number of boat owners in the area.
"For years there have been serious concerns regarding the lack of facilities which, in our opinion, makes enforcing compliance with the MPMP rules impossible," Kurz said.
"For example, requiring the movement of an identified, non-compliant fouled boat from one designated area lacking haul-out facilities to another that has these facilities is counter-productive.
"After the dismantling of the only slipway for larger boats in Opua, there are now also great difficulties to prevent the spread of marine pests because such vessels have to leave the Bay of Islands with fouled hulls to haul out at shipyards in Whangārei."
According to New Zealand's Cawthron Institute, Northland has a number of invasive marine pests spread across the region.
These include the Mediterranean fanworm (Sabella spallanznii), Asian kelp (Undaria pinnatifida), Pyura sea-squirt (Pyura praepetualis/doppelgangera), Japanese mantis shrimp (Oratosquilla oratoria), Australian droplet tunicate (Eudistoma elongatum), and Asian paddle crab (Charybdis japonica).
The number and spread of each of these pests within Northland varies said the institute, with some broadly distributed, while others currently found only in discrete areas.
Sabella has been of particular concern in Northland, which Biosecurity New Zealand explained threatened Northland's economy, environment, social and cultural values.
The serious marine pest typically attaches to artificial structures (the main way the species is spread) and can also settle on concrete pontoons, mooring blocks, hard rock surfaces, mussel rope and some types of discarded rubbish.
How many Sabella infest a hull depends on the amount of biofouling already on the vessel, how effective the antifouling regime of the vessel hull is, and where and how long the vessel is berthed or moored (ie. densities of Sabella present in the environment).
According to Kurz, NRC claimed repeatedly to have found Sabella in the Bay of Islands, but the public had not seen an evaluation of how large the problem was in local waters.
He felt it was also unfair only Northland boat owners were asked to pay when antifouling their boats, whereas visiting boats from badly infected areas such as Whangārei Harbour, Hauraki Gulf and Waitemata Harbour allegedly did not incur a fee.
"We believe NRC should reopen those facilities and they need to either be free/minimal charge or funded by the council," Kurz said.
"Their management could require an online booking system for grids, similar to the DOC campground system.
"Finally, the Mediterranian fanworm (Sabella) doesn't have specific habitat requirements and our shallow coastal waters are ideal for its existence, so in regards to conspicuous morphology, it can be argued they can be very hard to find in the low visibility of our tidal waters."
A Northland Regional Council spokesperson said over the past two years, council staff had worked on a collaborative project with three other northern regions including Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty, MPI and DoC to develop a draft proposal for a clean hull plan.
NRC said the national plan was expected to be available for public consultation later this year and would mean consistent rules would be applied across the top of the North Island.
NRC denied Kurz's claims the council had removed several grids, saying the council had only removed one due to being unconsented.
An NRC spokesperson said some other grids in Northland had ceased operation as their owner/operators had chosen not to obtain the required resource consent.
"The removal of the grid in question followed extensive discussions with local boat owners and a number of boating clubs who were given the opportunity to obtain the resource consent to legalise it," the spokesperson said.
"No one wanted to obtain the required resource consent and mitigate the effects of the grid, so it was removed."
NRC stated there were numerous boat maintenance facilities in the Bay of Islands where vessel owners could undertake all necessary maintenance to comply with the MPMP.
The NRC spokesperson said to ensure all vessels had the ability to comply with the Northland Regional Pest and Marine Pathway Plan, rules did allow vessels to travel from one designated place to another for the purpose of a haul out.
"The release of species from the hulls of these vessels is reduced by requiring the haul-out to be undertaken within 24 hours of arriving in the new designated place," they said.
"It should also be noted vessels are only non-compliant when fouling exceeds that permitted in the plan and they are moving between designated areas for purposes other than cleaning.
"A fouled vessel is not identified as non-compliant when operating within a designated area unless it harbours a marine pest named in the Northland Regional Pest and Marine Pathway Plan."
While the available BOI facilities did capture a majority of the fleet, NRC acknowledged some larger vessels were required to travel, with rules created to allow vessel owners to comply while minimising the risk of spreading marine pests.
"NRC's Regional Plan has included the ability for vessel owners to maintain their own hulls by allowing in-water cleaning in designated areas," the spokesperson said.
"In-water cleaning allows owners to remove slime, barnacles and small amounts of local biofouling with a soft cloth that does not undermine the antifouling paints."
To find out more information on marine pests in New Zealand waters, visit marinebiosecurity.org.nz/site.
