The complex and chaotic seas of the South Taranaki Bight should not be subjected to the risk of seabed mining, Ngā Rauru people told an Environmental Protection Authority committee on Monday.
Ngāti Ruanui was the first tribe to speak on the first day of the authority's seabed mining hearings in New Plymouth. It's the closest iwi to Patea, where mining is proposed offshore. At least 72 Ngāti Ruanui people were expected to attend.
The authority is considering whether Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) can mine 65.7km of seabed 22-36km offshore from Patea, for up to 35 years.
After Ngāti Ruanui came Ngā Rauru. Its chairman Te Pahunga Marty Davis has been told the authority is legally obliged to apply the "precautionary principle" especially strongly.
"The uncertainty and insufficiency of field testing is extremely concerning for an operation that involves 65 square kilometres of what is the equivalent of underwater open-cast mining," he said.