1.6 WHAT IS KNOWN IN NEW ZEALAND?
Local authorities have a statutory obligation under the Resource Management Act(1991) concerning contaminant discharge into receiving water. Most coastal cities monitor sediment levels, especially in harbours and estuaries, and pollutant concentration is monitored in sewage water, and sometimes in rivers and in coastal sediments (Milne & Watts 2008, Neale 2009, Table 1.2). Pollutants of concern are usually copper, zinc, lead, PAH and ammonia. The regulation concerning the acceptable levels of pollutants and sediment is based on the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) WQC (ANZECC 2000). These criteria, however, have been developed mainly using studies on Australian species; few studies on local species are available. New Zealand is a highly isolated system with a high endemism rate especially amongst invertebrates and coastal fish with a short range dispersal (MacDiarmid 2007). Land-use impacts including pollution and sedimentation have been identified as a major threat to coastal invertebrates in NZ (Morrison et al. 2009, Freeman et al. 2010). New Zealand has an extensive coastline of more than 15000 km (ratio coast/land of 53) with coastal fisheries including some of the most valued species such as snapper, lobster and paua (Morrison et al. 2009). It is therefore particularly important to verify whether the WQC are appropriate for local species.