In the aftermath of Cyclone Hale, masses of dead crayfish and pāua washed up on the shores of Ruatōria on the east coast of the North Island.
Locals believe the local degredation isn't getting enough attention, with waters being polluted by large-scale silt runoff.
Expert diver Robin Te Moana Thomson says the rotting crayfish and pāua are "only the tip of the iceberg really because there's thousands of paua and kina under all that".
Thomson believes deforestation is also to blame, saying it "caused all the erosion and sends all the silt and sediment out into the rivers and out to Tongaroa...I'm a diver, I've noticed the depletion along our coastlines, I know it's because of the silt and the sediment because it's not where it used to be."
People are warned not to try and salvage the washed-up kaimoana due to the potential hazardous pollutants that may be present as a result of the storm.
There's some worry the devastated marine life might lead to families having less kai on the table "for this time of year, which we normally obviously very much orient towards the sea being a provider for us," says Ben Green, Civil Defence and Emergency Manager at Gisborne District Council.
The slips cut off rural communities for days with the main highway reopening again today, but only during daylight hours.
Green believes it might not be until next week that some households in the embattled region are connected back to the power grid
Issues continue to be caused "just in the terrain and the challenge of what those crews are working in to have to get in there and try and tend to that," he says.
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