Photo: Supplied / LDRAn environmental group calling for control of parchment worm in the Marlborough Sounds has criticised the Marlborough District Council for years of inaction. Chairman Tim Healy said the parchment worm had been devastating for sounds marine life. The council's principal coastal scientist, Oliver Wade, said the parchment worm was overtaking the habitats and food supply of the Galeolaria tubeworm. A sampling of scallops from the sound could not definitively link the dying scallops to the spread of parchment worm. When the presence of the Hauraki worm variant was confirmed in the Marlborough Sounds, the council was advised not to conduct pest control measures.

Source: Stuff January 05, 2026 04:35 UTC