27 May 2025
Stewart Island Community Center, Oban
Thank you to all who attended the sessions in Oban on Tuesday 27 May. We appreciated the opportunity to update the community on the operational plan for the upcoming operation to protect pukunui/southern New Zealand dotterel in Rakiura National Park.
There were five presenters at each meeting:
Jennifer Ross, Department of Conservation (DOC) Operations Manager Rakiura
Pat Eschenmoser, DOC National Predator Control Program Regional Lead
Colin Bishop, DOC National Predator Control Program Operations Lead
Ana Menzies, Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) Technical Innovator
Duncan Kay, ZIP Operations Director
We have shared and summarised their presentations below for anyone who was unable to attend in person.
Jennifer Ross, Department of Conservation (DOC) Operations Manager Rakiura
Jennifer provided context for the operation, noting that Rakiura is home to a variety of native birds, reptiles, and bats, some of which are unique to the island.
Predator control has been ongoing for years in efforts to protect native species like the pukunui, which threatened by feral cat predation and now nearing extinction. Other native species, including kākā and kererū, have also suffered population declines due to predators like rats, feral cats, and possums.
This decline has prompted an urgent predator control operation using the best method we currently have available to us: aerially applied 1080 bait. This proposed predator control operation is being led by DOC, and ZIP has been engaged to help deliver the operation and support community engagement and consultation. Both DOC and ZIP have extensive experience carrying out similar operations in other parts of New Zealand.
Jennifer outlined how this meeting was part of what's called 'consultation on effects'. ‘Consultation on effects’ describes the consultation process when a method is chosen (i.e. aerial 1080) and we’re asking affected and interested parties for feedback on the potential effects of that method. Feedback from these parties, including from the community, will help us to consider measures to mitigate potential effects of the proposed operation. Details of the proposal, including operational boundaries, monitoring design and water supply management, might change based on our consultation discussions.
Feedback from the consultation period will be included in the permission application submitted to DOC and the local Public Health Unit. The permissions process will ultimately decide whether this operation goes ahead.
Pat Eschenmoser, DOC National Predator Control Program Regional Lead
Pat discussed the specifics of the proposed operation:
The proposed operational area is approximately 40,000 hectares, covering key pukunui breeding sites as well as a 5km buffer around them to allow for the home range of feral cats and to slow re-invasion.
The operation will target rats and possums to control the feral cat population through secondary poisoning, using aerial 1080 as a tool. This method has been selected because it’s the only tool that allows us to control these predators across vast, remote and rugged landscapes at a scale that will provide pukunui the best chance to breed successfully this season.
The aerial application of 1080 involves two stages: pre-feed and toxic.
The timing of the operation is proposed for between June and September to maximise protection from feral cat predation over the pukunui’s breeding season before the inevitable predator reinvasion occurs from surviving predators outside the proposed treatment area.
A load site for the bait will be established on the western side of the island, near Mason Bay. We are currently investigating two preferred load sites.
Pat also discussed other details, including how nearby water intakes will be managed, and the importance of identifying any informal water intakes, especially those used for boats, to manage any potential effects.
Pat explained that suppression operations of this kind are delivered regularly across Aotearoa. Over many decades of delivery, tools and processes have been developed to ensure accurate and effective distribution of bait. The results and outcomes for a suppression operation of this nature are well studied and understood.
Colin Bishop, DOC National Predator Control Program Operations Lead
Colin discussed how monitoring will be conducted alongside the proposed predator control operation, to measure both the effect of the predator control work on the target species (specifically rats, possums, and feral cats), and the biodiversity outcomes of the operation.
DOC is proposing to monitor outcomes for pukunui, kiwi, lizards and potentially forest canopy through this operation. Colin also described how extensive monitoring has been conducted for species like robin, ruru/morepork and kākā through similar operations elsewhere in Aotearoa. The outcomes of wide-scale predator control for these species are consistently positive.
Tom Agnew, Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) Development Director
Tom spoke about the regulations and permissions required for the proposed predator control operation. His presentation highlighted the many layers of safety compliance measures, administered and assessed by a range of regional and national authorities, that DOC and ZIP need to adhere to in order to deliver an operation of this kind.
Tom outlined the ways we aim to manage potential effects on hunting and fisheries interests and activities through the proposed operation.
Duncan Kay, ZIP Operations Director
Duncan gave a presentation about the small-scale eradication trial ZIP is proposing to carry out alongside the predator suppression operation.
While this operation is a standalone response to an immediate conservation crisis, it also presents an opportunity to gain critical insights into predator behaviour and control methods on Rakiura. The trial involves an additional application of non-toxic prefeed and toxic bait, followed by intensive predator detection, across a smaller area within the wider proposed treatment area. This ‘1080 to zero’ method has been used to successfully eradicate predators from large areas in South Westland and Te Manahuna Aoraki.
This trial will help us to learn about the effectiveness of aerially applied 1080 to eliminate three species of rats in the Rakiura context, before the Predator Free Rakiura eradication gets under way.