Deadly slug spread unknown: experts

Two and a half months after health warnings were first issued for Auckland beaches, scientists say they can not rule out the possibility that the deadly tetrodotoxin found in sea slugs has spread to other creatures and other parts of the country.

Agencies managing the toxic outbreak in Auckland and Coromandel, which killed six dogs, have sent a report highlighting the problem to the Government and asked it to pay for ongoing research.

Auckland Regional Council, the Department of Conservation and others who have been responding to the dog deaths are understood to have told the Ministry for the Environment the problem was of national significance and strongly recommended that the ministry take over.

A report to the council by Nelson's Cawthron Institute was attached, saying toxic slugs could be in other parts of the country but scientists could only find that out with more research.

The toxin, known as TTX, might also be living in beach sediments, it said.

The report made several recommendations, including making sure warning signs were in place at all affected beaches showing pictures of the slug Pleurobranchaea maculata.

It recommended further research to find out where the toxin came from and how far it had spread.

A spokesman for the Cawthron Institute, which first discovered TTX in grey side-gilled sea slugs, said the company was frustrated about the funding situation and felt it had been "almost penalised" for discovering the problem so quickly.

Mark Jarvis, Cawthron's business development and marketing manager, said there probably would have been more money available for research if the problem had taken longer to find.

The company wants money to carry on its sea slug breeding programme and recommends other research be done to find out more about the toxin.

Mr Jarvis said the beach scare highlighted how little money was available to deal with unexpected scientific problems, which could often "fall between the cracks" between different agencies.

Most research money tended to come from two- or three-yearly funding rounds and was earmarked for specific projects, making it hard to deal with the unexpected.

That was particularly true in this case, when the relevant experts did not work for a Crown science company, he said.

The Cawthron report recommended a survey of tetrodotoxin and gray side-gilled sea slugs, which are common in the shallows around New Zealand, to find out whether the problem is restricted to certain beaches.

It is not known whether some beaches have had more dog deaths simply because they are more popular with dog walkers, or whether there has been an increase of slugs at those beaches.

Auckland Regional Council, which has been leading the response to the dog deaths, believes Auckland ratepayers should not carry the full burden of ongoing tests.