The Department of Conservation has decided against taking action against a sand mining company over allegations it disturbed protected stony corals, citing insufficient evidence.
By Peter de Graaf of RNZ
The complaint arose from dredging carried out by McCallum Brothers in the Pākiri temporary sand extraction area, north of Auckland, in 2025.
The company has since stopped sand mining at Pākiri but is applying for a fast-tracked resource consent to take sand from Northland's Bream Bay instead.
DOC launched an investigation after Pākiri resident Damon Clapshaw contacted the department alleging McCallum Brothers had continued dredging after ecological consultants discovered stony corals in the area in March 2025.
Dredging ended when the protected coral was formally identified three months later.
Wildlife crime team lead Dylan Swain said DOC had investigated two alleged breaches of the Wildlife Act 1953.
He said the act made it an offence to "take or disturb absolutely protected marine wildlife without authority".
It was also an offence to fail to report accidental or incidental death or injury of marine wildlife.
Swain said the investigation had now been completed.
"Although corals were identified in the area, there is insufficient evidence to prove stony corals were disturbed by the company. Therefore, we will not be pursuing enforcement action."
Swain said DOC had notified the company and the person who brought the information to the department's attention.
Earlier, Clapshaw told RNZ he believed DOC should have been notified of the discovery of stony corals straight away, and he was concerned coral may have been disturbed in the months between its discovery and the cessation of dredging.
McCallum Brothers chief operating officer Shayne Elstob said the company would not comment on DOC's decision while its Bream Bay sand-mining application was being processed by the fast-track expert panel.
The company is seeking consent to mine up to eight million cubic metres of sand 4km offshore in Bream Bay – 150,000 cu m per year for the first three years, and up to 250,000 cu m per year for the next 32 years.
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that the expert panel's decision on the sand-mining application is due on October 1.
In a memo published to the fast-track website, associate panel convener Helen Atkins said she had appointed a three-person panel to consider the application, which had been received in full on February 17.
The panel would be chaired by environmental lawyer Catherine Somerville‑Frost and would start work on April 13.
Comments from invited parties would be accepted from April 28, and the decision documents were due on October 1.
The proposal has sparked protests in Bream Bay, including a gathering of about 700 people at Ruakākā Beach last month.
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