By BRIDGET CARTER
Several mussel farms being built without resource consent on Northland's east coast have been shut down.
Northland Regional Council monitoring manager Tony Phibbs said two men representing a Northland trust and a Nelson-based company were this month ordered to stop work on the farms and to remove farm-related equipment from the Whangaruru Harbour.
Mr Phipps said the farms had been developed in the middle of the harbour, near Motukauri Island, at the harbour entrance off Oakura Bay and inside Motutara Island.
They involved hundreds of metres of ropes and buoys, Mr Phipps said, which the council believed could pose a navigation hazard, particularly at night.
He said it was the first time a large marine farm had been built without consent in Northland.
It was not clear when the farms were started. Mr Phibbs said the council became involved after complaints from residents.
Further reading: nzherald.co.nz/marine
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