Twenty-three rig sharks and a stingray have been found dead in Porirua Harbour in what conservation groups are calling a highly unusual and distressing discovery.
The animals were found last Thursday in the Pāuatahanui Inlet by staff from Greater Wellington Regional Council during routine sediment monitoring.
Porirua Harbour Trust chairperson Michael Player told 1News the sharks appeared to have been dumped overnight.
“They were found by council officers doing regular monitoring, and it was clear from how fresh they were that it likely happened the previous night,” Player told 1News.
The rig sharks had their gills slit, while the stingray’s barb had been removed. All were dead when discovered.
Greater Wellington environmental scientist Rachel Parry told 1News the find was deeply concerning.
“Finding dead sharks in these numbers was distressing and highly unusual,” Parry said.
Parry said another rig shark was seen alive but injured in the nearby Onepoto Inlet the same morning.
She said the Pāuatahanui Inlet was a critical habitat for rig sharks, also known as lemonfish, particularly during spring and summer.
“During springtime, the Porirua Harbour is a precious breeding ground for rig sharks, and in summer and autumn it’s considered a high-value nursery,” Parry told 1News.
“It plays a very important role in sustaining population numbers, as rig sharks are known to return to the same areas to give birth and mate.”
Player said the discovery was especially upsetting given how rarely the species was seen in the harbour.
“I’ve lived here for 11 years, I walk it, paddleboard it, use it a lot. I’ve never seen a rig shark myself,” he told 1News.
“They’re very shy animals, so to see 23 that had been slaughtered was quite distressing.”
Fisheries New Zealand district manager Aaron Mendoza told 1News the agency was notified by local commercial fishers and had reviewed photographs of the animals.
“We can confirm the sharks are rig, which are targeted by commercial fishers and sometimes caught as bycatch by recreational fishers,” Mendoza said.
“Given the marks on the sharks and the cutting of the gills, we think it’s likely they were cut free from a recreational set net.”
Set netting is illegal within the inlet, and Fisheries New Zealand said restrictions also apply along much of the lower North Island west coast.
“While it is legal to discard rig shark in limited circumstances, it’s unclear where the net was set,” Mendoza told 1News.
“We remind all set net fishers that it is illegal to set inside four nautical miles offshore from the coast of Hāwera south to the Wellington Harbour entrance.”
Fisheries New Zealand is asking anyone with information about the incident to contact the agency.
Fisheries New Zealand contact information: Freephone: 0800 00 83 33. Email: [email protected]