The Christchurch City Council has responded to claims from locals that people fishing in New Brighton are leaving behind old food scraps used as bait.

It comes as locals have called out people using chicken carcasses, old sausages and fish guts to catch crabs on the Pier.

A local resident told Chris Lynch Media that she no longer walks her dog along the beach after she became unwell.

“The raw carcasses the crab fishermen use as bait wash up on the beach from the Pier towards South Brighton. 

“Large gulls pick them up and take them to the dunes and streets. 

“My dog finds them and consequently gets diarrhoea, it’s ongoing. We muzzle her when dozens wash up.”

Christchurch City Council Head of Parks Andrew Rutledge told Chris Lynch Media that while they’re not aware of crab pot baits or organic waste washing up on the beach, they have noticed other rubbish being left behind.

“We have recently noticed a lot of cable tie cuttings left on the Pier due to them being used to secure bait to crab pots.

“We have been discussing some options to deter this from happening as we are very concerned about plastic cuttings making their way into the marine environment.”

Addressing concerns that the black-billed gull population has grown because of the food scraps, Mr Rutledge said the gull population has not grown due to rubbish on the beach, but there are other factors contributing to the increase.

“The increase on the beach and around the Pier is simply due to there being sizeable breeding colonies in paddocks near the Estuary and within the Bromley Oxidation Ponds.

 “The spring breeding season numbers are higher than in past years and we do need to control their numbers. However, there is no ongoing control activity currently and toxins have not been used.”