Stockton snails released back to the wild

4 December 2006

First Stockton snails released back to the wild

Solid Energy and the Department of Conservation (DOC) have this morning released back to the wild, 20 land snails from the Department’s captive facility in Hokitika and originally collected from the Mt Augustus area of Stockton Opencast Mine.

A further 20 snails collected directly from the ridgeline of the mine site were also released on to the site approximately 800 metres to the north of the source site. The 40 snails have been released into an area of the Stockton Plateau which will not be mined. Prior to the release they were blessed by Ben Hutana of Te Runanga O Ngati Wae Wae.

DOC scientists will compare the survival of the snails which have been kept in captivity for a time with those released direct from the ridgeline and a further 20 snails which have been tagged and will remain within their natural habitat on the ridgeline. All 60 snails have been marked with transponders to assist the monitoring.

DOC West Coast Conservator, Mike Slater, says: “While the number of animals released may seem small, it is based on current knowledge of the snails’ ecology and weighing up all risks and benefits. This is clearly seen as the first step towards further releases. In the short term there will be further releases onto this particular site to determine carrying capacity, once initial survival is confirmed.”

Solid Energy is taking the lead in identifying further suitable release sites for the 1500 plus snails currently in captivity in Hokitika.

Solid Energy’s National Environmental Manager, Mark Pizey, says: “Our first priority is to investigate sites on or near the Stockton Plateau to identify those which have habitat characteristics that would be suitable to release snails into. Decisions on release sites will be closely advised by the project’s Technical Advisory Group, a group of DOC and Solid Energy snail/invertebrate specialists and ecologists.”

Solid Energy estimates that snail searches have been completed in about 25% of the Mt Augustus area within the Coal Mining Licence. As at 29 November 2006, there were 1527 snails housed in captivity in cool rooms at DOC Hokitika. The number of live snails found to date is now leading experts to project that the Mt Augustus snail population may number as many as 5,000.

Notes

1. Solid Energy has been searching for and collecting native land snails in the Mt Augustus area of the Stockton ridgeline since the grant of wildlife permits earlier in the year by the Minister of Conservation and Associate Minister of Energy. A permit covering 12-hectares to the south of Mt Augustus was granted on 27 February 2006 and for a permit covering the 11 hectare Mt Augustus area on 12 April 2006. The searches have been progressively moving along the ridgeline.

2, Of the 1527 snails collected and sent to Hokitika as at 29 November 2006, 38 have died; only 17 have died in captivity representing 1% of the total captive population and suggesting that the management practices adopted to date are successful. The remaining balance were damaged and arrived at the captive facility dead or died shortly after arrival.

3. At 29 November 329 snails eggs were in captivity and of these 43 eggs had been laid in captivity and three eggs, all laid in the wild, have hatched.

ENDS

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