Students from Oakura School and Highlands Intermediate in Taranaki were puzzled when they repeatedly came across shuttlecock-shaped plastic shotgun wads washed up on local beaches. With the help of Taranaki District Council, Taranaki Fish & Game Council, MetOcean Solutions and Project Hotspot - an initiative which uses citizen science to better protect threatened coastal species - the wads were traced back to a clay pigeon shoot which takes place each March over the Manganui River. A computer software model confirmed that plastic wads would be carried down the Manganui River, into the Waitara River, and out to sea before being deposited along the coast north and south of New Plymouth at the sites noted by the students. The schools’ discovery has encouraged Inglewood Rod and Gun Club members to phase out plastic wads and make the switch to biodegradable ones.
