Pristine bay on journal's list of most degraded

The naming and shaming of a New Zealand salmon and mussel region on a list of the world's most polluted estuaries has bewildered those familiar with its clear, clean waters.

National Geographic magazine lists Big Glory Bay on Stewart Island as one of the world's 12 most degraded estuaries, up there with the likes of Italy's Venice Lagoon and New York City's Long Island Sound.

"I don't know where they got their information from," said Stewart Island charter tour operator Colin Hopkins, who takes tourists by boat to view the farms at Big Glory Bay.

"People are quite keen to see the farms, you can see the mussel lines disappearing into the pristine, clear water."

Department of Conservation Southland boss Kevin O'Connor was equally at a loss.

"Big Glory Bay's tranquil waters are surrounded by the bushclad hills of a national park," he said.

"It's lovely clean water and pretty much idyllic."

Fisheries company Sanford has one salmon farm and a number of mussel farms at Big Glory Bay, which lies on the east of Stewart Island, near the settlement of Half Moon Bay.

Manager Tom Foggo thought the appearance of the bay in National Geographic's list "crazy".

"I'm astounded, it's just so off-the-wall," he said.

Mr Foggo was not concerned the listing would affect the company's lucrative export markets for New Zealand green-lipped mussels and farmed salmon.

"No one is really taking it seriously but we wrote to [National Geographic] and asked them to correct it in a future publication."

He said the listing raised doubts about the magazine's credibility.

The list of degraded estuaries appears in a story in the June edition by long-time Baltimore Sun environmental reporter Tom Horton.

The story concerns ongoing pollution problems in Chesapeake Bay, on the United States eastern seaboard, from chemically intensive agriculture and suburban sprawl.

The famous bay, south of Washington, acts as 1.6sq km drainage basin for Washington DC and six states, including Pennsylvania and Baltimore.

Chesapeake has also become one of the world's "sunshine belts", attracting ever-increasing numbers of holiday makers and homeowners.

Forest and Bird spokesman Barry Weeber said concerns were raised about the effect of salmon farming in Big Glory Bay about a decade ago but in any list of degraded estuaries the Manukau Harbour would surely be way ahead of Big Glory Bay.

Dead seas
Baltic Sea - 70,000sq km
Northwestern Black Sea - 40,000sq km
Northern Gulf of Mexico - 17,000sq km