What absorbs 1/3 of our atmospheric carbon?
What is thought to hold over 80% of NZ’s unique plants and animals?
What has forests, volcanos (some of the largest lava fields) and mountains?
What holds the world’s tallest mountain?**
Where did we come from?
What covers two thirds of the earth?

Yep, you guessed it – the sea.

Seaweek kicked off this Sunday with a bunch of events in celebration of the deep, blue yonder that surrounds us.

A nudibranch found near Poor Knights, Photo: Ian Skipworth

Photo competitions, film screenings, underwater –litter picking, rockpooling,  sea-librity  parades – you name it – it’s happening across the country .

Blue, salty and filled with a horde of colourful sea-critters – the sea has held my fascination for, er, 25 years and counting.

Having spent my first few years sploshing around on the sea’s surface, I shrugged off my earthbound existence and slipped beneath the surface with the help of an aqua-lung thirteen years ago

I have never looked back. Oh, to have fins and gills!

I am now a dive junkie.  My weekends are best spent underwater, or if not, buried in my desk-side, bed-side tome – Nudibranchs of the World.

Once upon a time it was crabs that held my fascination – I did a thesis on their decorating behaviour -  but since I clapped eyes on our lurid, miniscule sea-slugs or nudibranches * I never looked back.

Sure, they’re not cute or cuddly (as the colour suggests they’re highly toxic) but they’re just a little reminder that Nature Is Amazing.

Such is my fascination with these slugs that I actually plucked a rather unusual one from Wellington’s sea-floor during Seaweek 2007, and discovered it was new to science.

And as much as I would like to boast about my keen eyes, my dedicated research and my encyclopaedic mind, I think much of it comes down to the fact that new marine discoveries are being made everyday.

So if you’re hoping to make your name in marine science, or you want to know a little more about what lies beneath, then head along to some of the walks, talks, and sea-side get-togethers we’re planning over the coming week.

* The word “nudibranch” comes from the Latin nudus, naked, and the Greek brankhia, gills

** Mauna Kea in Hawaii is the world’s tallest mountain standing at 33,480 feet.

Our critically endangered Southern Bluefin Tuna swims around the seas of several countries from Australia to Japan – and while these countries are working to reduce their quotas – we are trying to bump ours up by 25%.

Southern Bluefin Tuna, Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Fisheries.

The back-story goes something like this. Five (Japan, Australia, Indonesia, South Korea & NZ) countries work together to set up a Commission for Conservation (estab 1994) for Bluefin Tuna that sets fishing quotas for each country.

However, one of the founding signatories, Japan ( 1994) and recent signees Indonesia (2008), Taiwan (2002) & Korea (2001) have flouted their quota agreements and now New Zealand wants to get even, by putting in a proposal to up its tonnage from 420 – 532 tonnes.

It’s greedy to say the least given that we’re talking about a Critically Endangered Fish. Just recently, the commission has agreed to reduce the total fishing quota by 20%, and yet we want to catch more fish.

It’s like turning around and saying ‘right – we’ve done our bit– and others haven’t, who cares about the endangered listing – lets have our real share, ’

A weak ‘conservation’ commission like this leading a half-hearted attempt to reduce the catch by 20% doesn’t lead to species revival.

Who knows, we may end up in the situation Canada got themselves into in 1994 when their cod population collapsed?

And it wasn’t just the cod that suffered – 40,000 people were left jobless and the government had to fork out 2 billion dollars. It is still closed.

Our Bluefin tuna’s Atlantic cousin – the Atlantic bluefin tuna - is a case in point. Some scientists predict it’ll go in extinct in two to three years – something that is highlighted in our Seaweek movie (a world premiere!) –  The End of the Line.

So far over the Ministry of Fisheries has received 1,700 submissions asking it to not increase the quota and to consider a ban on the fishing of Southern bluefin tuna so stocks can recover. It included a submission by Forest & Bird which can be read here. It is expected that a decision on the proposal will be made in a few months time.

Last year my entire holiday leave was spent rooting out kea – on the wind, rain, snow and hail lashed mountains of St Arnaud, near Rainbow Ski field in Nelson. The trip below took place in the heart of winter

Keas make their homes in small mountainside burrows, and my job was to firstly find their nest, and secondly check if they were still being used.

The world's only snow-parrot - the kea, Photo: Andrew Walmsley

Not just a simple matter of ‘too roo, is  anyone there?’ If the nest was kea-less, I had to do a thorough check of Sign of Lifes – namely, feathers, poohs, or kea nearby. Finally, I would do the sniff test.

I had been tasked with the job of converting a 1990s map into an up-to-date GPS map that would provide a good snapshot of our kea-population in this area, and a record of their breeding success.

The reality of doing this meant that we needed to put in lots of man-hours, walking up and down mountains looking for obscure holes in the ground where kea could be nesting.

There wasn’t a job description given by the Kea Conservation Trust, but I imagine it would have read something like this –

Wanted: Kea location scout/nest monitor

A mountain man or woman needed to leap around the hills of St Arnaud in search of kea nests. Must be a kea-lover; must have 20/20 eyesight; must be able to traverse glacial rivers; must be happy to endure all manner of kea-bites (affectionate, or otherwise); must not mind being wet for the majority of the day.

The map resembled a treasure map. Reference points were provided and instructions were scribbled, however as I looked at the expansive feature-less, rock-scape before me, the task - at times – seemed rather daunting.

In order to reach certain nest sites, I had to cross some glacial, didymo-filled (read; slippery) rivers which was best done in a pantless, bootless state.  In this state, I would wander the hills, like a mad-man peering my nose into any suspicious cavities.

And – just like a madman - I would chuckle to myself when I thought about what would my rescuers think, if they found me in a scantily clad state and frozen on the river bed, or clinging to the mountain-side? 

The historic, insulation-free accommodation that was provided courtesy of DOC was my home for two rain-filled weeks. Its fire was my saviour. I even set up a mattress next to it so I could stay warm during the night and put extra logs on so it would still be going in the morning.

During my stay here, I eventually found a nest that had a bird inside who was sitting on some eggs. Her mate was outside the nest busy defending it from another male who had unknown intentions In total, I only discovered one nest with birds inside, one more nest that looked like birds had been using it and about 20 that were empty with no sign of anything

As well as scouring rockscapes, I went for more obvious spots to find kea – namely ski cafeterias. Here, I successfully trapped an old male, and smuggled it back to my car to change its band, only to discover it has attached itself to my assistant’s finger. I desperately looked around, trying to find a suitable chew-toy, only to discover the best substitute was my thumb.

Wounded and defeated, we finally made the decision to let this one roam free, in the hope that we can catch him next time around.

To be continued…..

Our towering kauri and our endangered species, such as our kokako and north island brown kiwi will be placed under greater protection if a National Park goes ahead.

National Parks aren’t created quickly – it took 14 years for Whanganui, 12 years for Paparoa.
We’ve been campaigning for a National Park in this area since 1988.

Turning this DOC land into a National park will mean that the area cannot be flogged off without the consent from the governor general.

And as we’ve seen with other parks, there has been a concerted effort to fit these areas out with extensive tracks and huts.

This forest has many hidden treasures – the Wairau river which flows past Tane Mahuta, the Hokianga heads and a dense forest of kauri and blazing red pohutakawa that stretches out to white-sand beaches

It will give this area an international profile. It will put these forgotten parts on Northland back on the map. It will re-invigorate the local economy. And it will become a draw-card for locals and tourists alike.

This is an area that Forest & Bird has worked hard to protect. It wasn’t until we presented parliament with a wheelbarrow filled with 50,000 signatures, that it was saved from the chainsaw gang back in the 1940s.

That said, our job is not over – Waipoua is one of the areas that contains schedule 4 land (our most treasured) and so therefore could be attacked by a mob of bulldozers.

In recent years Te Roroa have played an active part with the NZ Forest Restoration Trust in protecting private forested land around Waipoua and restoring native forests to cleared land.

And if all goes to plan these surrounding areas will be incorporated into this plan to create a truly unique sub-tropical wilderness area.

The march of pivot irrigators through some of our most iconic landscapes continues unabated. New territorities are being sought everyday - and drylands are being dressed up in lush pasture and filled with cows.

Several applications to green our russet brown McKenzie country are currently before Environment Canterbury. In order to see what we’d be losing, we travelled through this stunning downy landscape and spoke to people about how they felt about the impending transformation of the Mckenzie.

Please note: If you want to watch a longer version of this video, see here
To view the full length interview with Brian Turner, go here

Eco -action! Send John Key a e-card.

P.S I’d like to pass on my thanks to some of the people who helped in the making of this video - Anne from Alpine Recreation, Karl Z, Julie Barry, Natasha Turner and Garth. All the photos featured in the piece were taken by Gottlieb Braun Elwert.

Mandy

Named after pioneering conservationist and kakapo lover, Richard Henry, the tree mounted trap delivers a blow to the head of stoats using a CO2 powered piston, and then re-sets itself.

Each trap is set with long-life meat. The trap works on the principle that other stoats will cache the trap’s victim, and then return to the site to see if there is more food.

Since the launch in September over 900 traps have been sold to community based conservation groups across the country.

One of the partners of the company Robbie Grieg say it has been particularly useful in hard-to-reach areas with few volunteers, such as Tongariro river where Blue Duck are known to reside.

After graduating from design school five years ago, Grieg followed a well trodden path into furniture design, then took an unusual foray into industrial design for the Department of Conservation.

He found himself creating gecko observation units and underground cameras, and then set himself the challenge of tackling DOC’s $100 million question – how to effectively get rid of pests?

The group were given a $250,000 innovation grant by DOC to answer this question and came up with Henry - a super-light trap (400g instead of 6kg) that could re-set itself.

Of course, the problem boiled down to maths. The trap he and his colleagues developed costs between $160 - $180 and re-sets itself 12 times. After this, the gas canister needs to be changed at a cost of $8

In contrast, a conventional ‘DOC 200’ trap checked twelve times a year costs $96.

The trap has been in development for the past two years to ensure there was no by-catch from kea and weka, however they are still in a testing phase to ensure the trap meets animal welfare guidelines.

If it is proven to meet these guidelines, Greig is confident it will be adopted by the Department of Conservation.

For now, his company is busy refining the trap and working on different iterations of it, so that it will work well on other nasties, such rats, possums, rabbits and ferrets.

As an island nation surrounded by sea, we’re in a prime position to take advantage of one of the world’s fastest growing industries: aquaculture.

Commercial aquaculture in New Zealand started in the 1960s, and since then it has grown to an industry that brings in $360 million dollars a year.

By loosening up our laws and giving the industry a cash-injection, National is hoping to build it into an industry that brings in around 1 billion dollars each year by 2025.

At present, Green shell mussel, King salmon and Pacific Oysters farms are dotted around the country from Northland to Southland taking up 0.02% of our coastline.  

Aquaculture Farm Facts, source: Aquaculture New Zealand

Attempts to kick-start the industry in the 1990s under National were unsuccessful because it relaxed controls on aquaculture so much that large speculative proposals (some were up to 10,000 ha) emerged – outraging fishers, boaties and the public alike.

A Resource Management Act clampdown ensued, in effect stopping any aquaculture development. 

In order to shake-up the industry and recommend changes that will allow this industry to thrive, an advisory group was appointed in 2009.

The advisory group’s report has made some useful suggestions, but it needs to build on the work by Aquaculture NZ and Forest & Bird to identify appropriate places for aquaculture in Northland and the Firth of Thames. 

Key issues that still need addressing are: 

• Identifying those areas that are closed to aquaculture are crucial.
- This is needed to ensure the protection of migration routes for our marine mammals. There are been plenty of examples of orca and whales getting caught in the ropes of offshore marine farms.
- Sites with outstanding landscape values should remain no-go zones.
• Creating a fair process for communities, environmental groups and coastal users.  

On top of this Gerry Brownlee has allocated two rounds ($600,000 and $500,000) of funds to businesses wanting to start-up aquaculture operations in New Zealand. 

This funding will not only kick-start the industry, but it will also allows businesses to develop better-funded proposals that address the concerns of recreational, environmental and community groups.

Increasing the productivity of our seas without over-fishing our marine life is a move in the right direction.

And stimulating this industry has other fringe environmental benefits, such as creating a push to clean up discharges and pollutants, and protecting these areas from destructive fishing practises such as bottom-trawling.

We just need to make sure these law changes are done in consultation with those who use and care about these waters, so marine farms are managed in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner. 

Fast-tracking the law and bypassing these processes will no doubt return us to the chaos of the 1990s.

For more information on aquaculture in New Zealand see – www.aquaculture.org.nz

Photo courtesy of the Department of Conservation

Our re-homed Hutton’s Shearwaters will soon be enjoying top notch security.

The splinter population was successfully transplanted to this seaside spot over the last few years by DOC and Forest & Bird after concerns were raised about the precarious nature of their two predator prone mountainside colonies.

Now, local conservationists are swiftly moving into stage two – creating a gated community.

Normally gated communities get a bad rap, but in this instance it’s a necessary measure to protect these threatened species from cats and stoats.

After vigorously fundraising (read: soliciting donations, raffles, art auctions and countless funding applications) the Hutton’s Shearwater Trust has stumped up the $200,000 for a 1.8 metre high predator proof fence that will enclose an area of 2.1 hectares.

In the coming months, the fence will be erected, and then the Trust will move onto their next project – mapping the exact movements of these mysterious international travellers.

It is known that Hutton’s shearwaters frequent the oceans off Western Australia, but is not known exactly how they get there and where they stay before returning to Kaikoura.

The Trust is going to attach geolocators to some birds to collect light levels (mainly sunset/sunrise) thus allowing researchers to figure out their flight-path and winter feeding grounds.

Next season another project will see some birds fitted with GPS trackers to determine summer feeding grounds off the Canterbury/Marlborough coast.

And with this kind of information, researchers will be armed with a bigger picture showing not only their migration routes and feeding grounds, but also the threats (e.g., set nets) that are present in these areas.

If you wish to contribute to funding these projects, please contact admin@huttonsshearwater.org.nz

Here’s a sneak preview of some of the entries. Entries close on March 15. For more information see - http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/saving-our-environment/freshwater-/wild-rivers-/wild-rivers-photo-competition

Huxley river, Mount Cook. Photo: Gary Cooper.

We spent magical time walking up along this river to the base of a glacier.. it was magic

Buller River, Photo: Tessa Farley

I have a close connection with the wild Buller River, many times I have travelled along side it and I can’t help but watch its beauty. On this occasion it was Christmas Day 2009, my sister and I were to Murchison to meet up with our family. My sister was driving so I was free to admire the river. With all the surrounding trees the water takes a beautiful green look. I took this photo as my sister drove, I just had to try to catch some of the river’s beauty so I could later reflect on its magnificence.

Hollyford River, Photo: Graham Prentice

The river is a tributory to the Hollyford River, Fiordland National Park

Amongst the captivating and awesome sights on the way into Milford Sound, this fast moving river cascades down the valley bearing both artesian and snow melt waters. Completely surrounded by the rocky valley walls and sub-alpine forest, this river sets off an idyllic mountain valley.

Waimakariri, Photo: Ditte Holm

Waimakariri River and the Canterbury Plains on a perfect day seen from the perspective of a helicopter.
The shallow water gives the river a multiple number of arms that emulate and escape one another.

Burke Gorge, Photo: Zak Shaw

Untitled from Mandy Herrick on Vimeo.