Walk the Walk for our Ocean

‘Walk the walk together for our Ocean’

My name is Athol Steward, committed to the preservation of our abundant and beautiful ocean…

The South Taranaki coast is an example of one of many exceptional ocean environments around New Zealand, bringing pleasure and value to our lives. This treasured coastal environment is home to an abundance of diverse and in some instances endangered sea life worthy of protection and fighting for. In 2014, this was my initial motivation to oppose seabed mining near Patea and support the likes of KASM, GreenPeace and anyone else who was geared to counter a money motivated, unsophisticated experimental mining operation with potentially disastrous consequences for the marine environment.

So, like many thousands of environmentally conscious New Zealanders I spoke up against TTRL’s seabed mining application, in my submission, to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), expressing a clear NO! Astonishingly, this year, the EPA weakened by commercial and political pressure, approved TTR’s 2016 application to scour the seabed approving a massive under water open cast mine covering 65 square kilometres, extracting 50 million tons each year for 35 years!! For me, this was a call for action, to advocate for the environment and act to stop seabed mining.

The time for talking is over, it’s time to take action to reverse the EPA’s decision. Approval of this mine opens the door to a mine near you, specifically in the concession area anywhere from Muiriwai to Whanganui.

I’ve made a decision to do a 400km coastal walk to raise funds and awareness, from Raglan to Whanganui to help fund KASM’s High Court appeal against the EPA. The two week campaign, starts in Raglan on Saturday October 28th, finishing in Whanganui on Sunday 12th 2017. In addition to fund raising, the goals are to promote our beautiful marine environment and raise awareness about the perils of seabed mining. The plan is to walk as many beaches as possible, averaging 30km each day swimming rivers and harbours like Kawhia and Aotea as we go - adventure with a purpose. My eldest son Lloyd will join in for the first week and my youngest, Jonathan, for the second.