Commercial scallop dredgers have left ragged scars on the Queen Charlotte Sounds seabed, says an angry environmental group.
The Guardians of the Sounds spokesman Peter Beech said a fleet of 17 commercial scallop dredges came into the Sounds last month, for the first time in years, and decimated the "fragile environment" of the seabed.
But Challenger Scallop Enhancement Company chief executive Russell Mincher denies that the dredges are ruining a vulnerable ecosystem.
"We are talking about a mudbank."
Kim Drummond of the Fisheries Ministry said the ministry was satisfied the fishery was not suffering, and in fact looked to be improving.
He said areas with brachiopods, horse mussels or other significant communities were set aside to be protected from commercial fishing.
Anger over scallop dredging in Marlborough
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