Forest & Bird: Forum: Marine and Coastal - Recent Posts

Fiordland Coast Walks on "Haast-Milford New Highway Promotion"

Fiordland Coast Walks — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:16:30 +0000

We have recently launched a venture taking guided walks along this coastline, following many years wandering and exploring it. The coastline is spectacular and we agree that any road along here will completely destroy the environment. This coastline is the longest stretch of wilderness coastline in New Zealand that can be walked (relatively easily) and for that reason alone the road proposal should be tossed in the bin. If anyone has any questions regarding this area please don't hesitate to contact us. Similarly, if there is anything we can do to assist in keeping this coastline pristine then get in touch. We are already helping DOC with a beach clean-up program to remove the flotsam and jetsam from fishing boats. Tawaki above has it right regarding the road - economic lunacy and environmental disaster.

black tomtit on "Russian Fishing Boat Plundering the Ross Sea and now in trouble"

black tomtit — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 08:09:17 +0000

I checked out your link. It was awesome. They should probably have these movies at the cinema instead of Happy Feet which is a ficticious story. I am disgusted at the fact that this endangered toothfish is being hunted to extinction just so rich people can eat it in fancy resturants. I think toothfish is food for the elephant seals and that may be why they are declining. By the way I looked for Arnotts point on google maps and could not find it but it appeared in Craig Potton's wild coasts series. How do you get there? and what time of year are you kost likely to see the elephant seals?

Tawaki on "Russian Fishing Boat Plundering the Ross Sea and now in trouble"

Tawaki — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 01:39:11 +0000

There still appears to be no coverage in the mainstream media from all of the Antarctic and Marine campaigners from Forest and Bird, Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd and the NZ Green Party about the wreck of the Fishing Boast Sparta in the Ross Sea up against the Antarctic Pack Ice. Have I missed something? Perhaps their stories are not being carried or maybe the campaigners are all on holiday. The website <a href="http://www.lastocean.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow">www.lastocean.wordpress.com</a> has a story all about why these flimsy fishing boast shouldn't even be fishing in the Ross Sea. They are an ecological disaster just waiting to happenand are totally inadequate for handling collisions with icebergs. Yet this is something that is highly likely in this extreme environment. The ship owners are playing Russian Roulette with the Ross Sea ecosystems in order to plunder valuable Patagonian toothfish. If Sparta were to sink and its oil spread right across the Ross Sea it would destroy a lot more birdlife than the 2,000 or so birds killed or rescued from the Rena oil spill. There is virtually no way that there could be any remedial work done for the Antarctic birds contaminated by oil let alone mop up spilled oil. Lets face it this is nearly the most remote place on earth and as this week has evidenced, it has taken more than a week for the Korean rescue tug to reach the Sparta, let alone attempt to do anything about an oil spill. If New Zealand is serious about pressing territorial claims to the Ross Sea, the first step should be for us to recall all NZ operated or licensed fishing boats working in this Sea. The NZ Government knows that it cannot handle any ship wrecks or oil spills in this remote location and that if the shipwrecks/oil spills happen it will be an ecological disaster for penguins, seabirds, marine mammals and the whole ecosystem.

black tomtit on "ships documentary"

black tomtit — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:59:24 +0000

After the Rena incident and the Russian boat Sparta I felt is is time to raise the topic of a very interesting documentary I saw about twenty years ago about oil tankers and bulk carriers sinking causing environmental disasters and deaths of people working aboard them. I can't remember the name of the documentary or who put it out. It came out after the Braer oil spill in Shetland. It was very interesting as it went into the details of flags of convienience and ships that had rusted right through and whose owners coverered up the evidence. Has anyone else seen it? or taped it? I guess it was on so long ago there were only videos I taped it but the tape was lost and there were no DVDs back in those days.

black tomtit on "Russian Fishing Boat Plundering the Ross Sea and now in trouble"

black tomtit — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:31:18 +0000

I agree completely. I wish I had seen this new item. Why are they allowed to fish for toothfish when it is endangered? This Russian boat is just as much of a threat as the Nisshon Maru. Remember when the Nisshon caught fire in the Ross sea and threatened to pollute it? Why are we having to send Air Force Hercules down to this boat when the Russians should be sending down their own air force ? Why are these fishers and whalers allowed in World Park Antartica anyway? The Sea Shepherds need to fight these fishers as well as the whalers. Unfortunatly they are too thinly funded and not paid unlike the greedy fishing corporations.

Tawaki on "Russian Fishing Boat Plundering the Ross Sea and now in trouble"

Tawaki — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 07:38:31 +0000

If NZ is going down there to rescue them then what controls can we exercise on the carnage that these fishing boats are causing to the Antarctic marine environment? Anyone who watched TV News tonight should have seen that there are literally tens of other fishing vessels close to the Russian rust bucket all presumably hammering the Antarctic toothfish srocks right along the edge of the the Antarctic pack ice. There were Russian, Japanese and English named vessels in the TV story I saw. Why aren't those other boats pressured to go and rescue their fellow fishermen rather than our employees, the NZ Air Force, having to do the job? How much is this whole excercise going to cost NZ taxpayers? Where is the media doing its investigative best or does it just want to report a rescue story rather than ask the most appropriate qquestions about what all these fishing boast are doing there in the first place? Come on Forest and Bird! Come on Greenpeace! Come on Sea Shepherd!. We need your questioning tp expose just what is going on.

Tawaki on "Russian Fishing Boat Plundering the Ross Sea and now in trouble"

Tawaki — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:17:22 +0000

Caring New Zealanders who support a Ross Sea marine reserve will be delighted I'm sure to know that our hard earned taxes are paying for a NZ Air Force Hercules aircraft and ships to go to the rescue of a Russian fishing boat in the Ross Sea. Check out the photos on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz" rel="nofollow">www.stuff.co.nz</a> and you can see how this sinking rust bucket is hard against the Antarctic ice with a hole well below its waterline. Undoubtedly down in the Ross Sea to plunder the Antarctic toothfish, this marine rescue and potential environmental disaster is yet another example of why the entire Ross Sea should be a fully protected marine reserve where fishing is outlawed. Over the next few days we will no doubt learn who the Russian boat was fishing for and what, if any, NZ involvement there is in its charter or its fishing operations. We shouldn't forget that NZ fishing companies are up to their eyeballs in the plunder of this last great fishing wilderness, Antarctica and its surrounding waters. I don't want my taxes used to rescue environmental scumbags. Let the other rogue fishermen down there show the solidarity of the oceans and rescue their own collaborators.

black tomtit on "Somali pirates protect fish stocks"

black tomtit — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 06:47:56 +0000

It is disturbing that people overseas are saying our fisheries are well managed. Theres must be in a shocking state. Our hoki fisheries are decling quite rapidly and our orange roughy fisheries are collapsed like the Atlantic cod fishery. Our seabird and marine mammal bycatch is horrific. I am not a seafood person but I think those that are should be very concerned they may not be able to eat seafood for much longer. On the positive side the no sea lions were killed this year in the squid fishery.

black tomtit on "Our vanishing elephant seals"

black tomtit — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 03:00:11 +0000

The Australians seem to be doing more than we are in monitoring their numbers. Taronga zoo has alot of seals but not these seals. I suppose they are too big. Although the cows are about the size of sealion bulls and there are sealion bulls at Taronga zoo. The Australians seem to think the decline is natural but I don't think a 97% decline is natural. I guess DOC is too constrained to deal with non endemic species. Some Australians in South Australia seem to think there are too many fur seals. Is it possible that the fur seals are out competing the elephant seals in the Southern ocean? Also unfortunatly sealion bulls have seen killing elephant seal pups on Campbell island. This was mentioned in Campbell island land of the blue sunflower. Leopard seals also kill elephant seal pups and their numbers are going up. I am disgusted at the National party's cutting of DOC jobs and 54 million from their budget. God knows will happen if they get in again. Also I was also wondering if there are any stuffed elephant seals in any of our museums?

Tawaki on "Our vanishing elephant seals"

Tawaki — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:11:44 +0000

Auckland Zoo isn't proposing to try to house Elephant Seals are they? Now that would be a challenge and a half! Zoos may have a role in wildlife conservation but.........The many new Asian Zoos are also following the historic western trend of providing a huge market for wild animals. This threatens many endangered species in the wild as country folk try to raise cash by catching these animals to sell to zoos. While zoos may preserve the genotype of endangered species they do not preserve the phenotype, the wild behaviour of those animals. There is nothing more sad than a caged kea.

Tawaki on "Our vanishing elephant seals"

Tawaki — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:05:40 +0000

The Australians have done major long term research on Southern Elephant Seal populations at Macquarie Island for 40-50 years. Here is their report contained within the Australian "State of the Environment" Report 2010. They are dealing with large seal populations (tens of thousands) compared to the small New Zealand populations. Their study shows a reduction of nearly 50% in the number of breeding female elephant seals in the period 1989 to 2009 and an annual decline of around 1.2% over this period. Interestingly in 2002 (see comment below) they did not attribute the decline to the fishing industry rather they though it was the result of a change in sea conditions and hence food availability. The Antarctic Convergence moving more southwards as a result of warming seas has been suggested as one reason for the massive decline in Rockhopper penguins in NZ's Sub Antarctic. Here is the reference: <a href="http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/soe/display_indicator.cfm?soe_id=31" rel="nofollow">http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/soe/display_indicator.cfm?soe_id=31</a> "15-Apr-2002 The data to date show that the number of breeding cows on Macquarie Island have been declining at ~1.2% per year for the last decade. This indicates that the large ocean environment that the seals forage in (the whole Southern Ocean between M.I. and Antarctica and west to Heard Is and east to the Ross Sea) is becoming less and less suitable for foraging by Southern Elephant Seals. It seems likely that present changes in ocean circulation in this huge area have resulted in reductions of plankton stocks to squid and myctophid fish (the major prey groups of Southern Elephant Seals) in accessible foraging areas for the seals compared to previous decades. There has been no appreciable and current competition between Southern Elephant Seals and fisheries in the Southern Ocean to date. Thus the seal decrease is attributable to "natural causes" as above."

black tomtit on "Our vanishing elephant seals"

black tomtit — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 04:35:58 +0000

The 97% decline is in New Zealand 's subantarctic. The Pacific and Indian oceans populations are all declining. I got the figure from several sources: A book called rare wildlife of NZ by Rod Morris and Alison Ballance and the Department of Conservation website and the handbook of New Zealand mammals. You are fortunate to see them at Arnotts point each year. I was going to see them and other marine mammals on a trip to Argentina but a volcanic eruption stopped me. So I would love to see and photograph some over here. I have been to Nugget point several times but only seen fur seals all from above. How do you get down to see the caves under Nugget Point as I have not seen any organised boat trips around the point.

Tawaki on "Our vanishing elephant seals"

Tawaki — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 03:40:07 +0000

This is shocking news. Do you have any reference for the figure of a 97% decline? Is that worldwide or is it a particular colony. ANARE and Dr Harry Burton were monitoring their numbers on Macquarie Island. Elephant seals are the 'Sperm Whale" equivalents of the seal world. They are the deepest diving (3,000metres depth), fartherest travelling (South America to South Africa) and fastest swimming over long distances of all the seal family. Since 1989 we have observed male elephant seals on Arnott's Point South Westland every single spring/summer for 22 years.They come to this sandy beach every year for about 3 months to moult off their old fur and grow new fur. Here is a 1991 photo of an elephant seal at Arnott's Point (with the people 10 metres away behind the line in the sand) and a 2011 photo of a different elephant seal at the same location. Someone once said to me "They are so ugly that only their mother could love them".....but really they are fantastically adapted to the cold watery world they inhabit and besides we probably look pretty ugly to them and certainly we wouldn't last long in Antarctic waters. I have also seen Elephant Seal on Campbell Island and apparently they are found in a sea cave at The Nuggets, South Otago. Does anyone know about this other mainland NZ colony and how it is faring?

black tomtit on "Our vanishing elephant seals"

black tomtit — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:06:14 +0000

I have read with concern the number of Southern elephant seals has declined by a staggering 97%. This never makes the news. Everyone talks about sea lions and fur seals being killed but neither of these has declined by 97% since the 1950s. As they are marine mammals also we should be very concerned that they have undergone such a massive decline and appear to be heading for extinction in our sector of the Southern ocean. Are they also caught in commercial fisheries? as no one ever talks about elephant seal bycatch. Or is it overfishing of the toothfish which elephant seals eat. Or is it the biggest threat to our planet Global warming?

kukupa on "Pacific's "Plastic Vortex""

kukupa — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 00:21:58 +0000

This is worth watching. <a href="http://tvnz.co.nz/global-radar/yr1-e5-video-4381506?fb_ref=facelike&fb_source=profile_oneline" rel="nofollow">http://tvnz.co.nz/global-radar/yr1-e5-video-4381506?fb_ref=facelike&fb_source=profile_oneline</a>

auckland anne on "Marine creatures and high-intensity noise underwater"

auckland anne — Fri, 20 May 2011 05:12:26 +0000

And another article <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10726912" rel="nofollow">http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10726912</a> I wonder if planners about undersea drilling and blasting are taking notice of all this news coinciding with talk about exploration proposals?

auckland anne on "new marine reserve proposal up north"

auckland anne — Wed, 11 May 2011 01:58:10 +0000

Mimiwhangata - proposed marine reserve. Yahoo!. <a href="http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/what-we-do/campaigns/we-love-marine-reserves/mimiwhangata-marine-reserve-proposal" rel="nofollow">http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/what-we-do/campaigns/we-love-marine-reserves/mimiwhangata-marine-reserve-proposal</a>

auckland anne on "Marine creatures and high-intensity noise underwater"

auckland anne — Sun, 08 May 2011 23:34:48 +0000

And another - Auckland Uni marine research shows fish "talk" and listen to each other when choosing home sites <a href="http://www.marine.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/news/template/news_item.jsp?cid=347710" rel="nofollow">http://www.marine.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/home/news/template/news_item.jsp?cid=347710</a>

auckland anne on "Marine creatures and high-intensity noise underwater"

auckland anne — Sun, 08 May 2011 01:16:11 +0000

Interesting video about how intense noises underwater effects marine life <a href="http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/marine/sonarvideo/video.asp" rel="nofollow">http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/marine/sonarvideo/video.asp</a> Relevant with increasing applications to explore for and extract oil and gas off our shores and what looks like any- and every-where.

kukupa on "Fish For Ever."

kukupa — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 21:37:21 +0000

FISH FOR EVER! Please have your say on were you would like a 100% no-take zones for a generation (25 years review) We are looking for about 10% of the Bay of Islands. <a href="http://www.fishforever.org.nz/have-your-say-55/select-your-sanctuaries" rel="nofollow">http://www.fishforever.org.nz/have-your-say-55/select-your-sanctuaries</a> If you go to the home page, you can find Some Recommended Areas. Pass it on, polls close soon!

auckland anne on "Great Conservation Hero Passes Away"

auckland anne — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 02:50:18 +0000

A highly entertaining man as well. Most memorable was when he was fighting against mining in Coromandel and the judge asked him what he'd do if he found a large gold nugget on a beach there. Without hesitation Prof replied he'd throw it back into the sea. Or the time I walked into one of his lectures (I am greatly honoured to have had him as a lecturer in Zoology) and he always wore his black academic's cape when he was lecturing, only this time he'd drawn huge eye-shapes on the inside of cape's "wings" with flourescent chalks, to illustrate to us why moths have eye-shapes on their wings and how it looks when they fly around (he told us as he 'flew' around the lecture hall flapping his cape). It sure makes me remember what animal mimicry is, all these years later!

Tawaki on "Great Conservation Hero Passes Away"

Tawaki — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:40:34 +0000

<a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/education/news/article.cfm?c_id=35&objectid=10711028" rel="nofollow">http://www.nzherald.co.nz/education/news/article.cfm?c_id=35&objectid=10711028</a> Professor John Morton a Distinguished Life Member of Forest and Bird and a great battler for natural New Zealand passed away on March 9. As Auckland University Professor of Zoology, he made a huge contribution to increase our awareness of the oceans and seashore that surrounds us. He was also at the forefront of the native forest conservation campaigns of the last 30 years. A mighty totara has fallen. To his wife Pat and his family all the best wishes from the Forest and Bird family.

Mandy on "Mangrove removal"

Mandy — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 00:52:40 +0000

HI Anne, You can post the photos onto the thread. Unfortunately only people with a facebook account will be able to view those piccies! Cheers, Mandy

auckland anne on "Mangrove removal"

auckland anne — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 22:32:16 +0000

Darn - photo wouldn't download. We'll try this way - here it is (fingers crossed) <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ForestandBird?ref=ts#" rel="nofollow">http://www.facebook.com/ForestandBird?ref=ts#</a>!/photo.php?fbid=191596577540715&set=o.137540437632&theater

auckland anne on "Mangrove removal"

auckland anne — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 22:29:09 +0000

Just by chance, we had a clean-up event at Whau River in West Auckland yesterday, and as it happened a debate started when local residents were saying about the dramatic increase in mangroves in parts of this estuarine waterway. The piccie below shows a bit about the area and you can see the mangroves which apparently weren't there or in far fewer numbers only a couple of years ago. The area we were at is literally MILES away from the Waitakere Ranges, but the theory is that when these ranges were deforested years ago, we are still seeing the sediment from the catchment being brought down to the coast, and trapping of it is giving mangroves a place to move into. I imagine the warmer weather in the past couple of years would’ve possibly exascerbated the mangrove settlement?

kukupa on "Mangrove removal"

kukupa — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:04:53 +0000

Cool, thanks.

auckland anne on "Mangrove removal"

auckland anne — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 21:57:18 +0000

This discussion might help answer, too <a href="http://blog.forestandbird.org.nz/mud-slinging/#comments" rel="nofollow">http://blog.forestandbird.org.nz/mud-slinging/#comments</a>

Mandy on "Mangrove removal"

Mandy — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 21:37:17 +0000

Hi kukupa, We are neither for or against, we generally try to weigh up a lot of factors including the effect of roosting birds, effect on marine biodiversity etc etc. Everything is done on a case by case basis. In the Hokianga, the mangroves are five metres high and they provide great habitat for birds such as grey warblers and tui. In Whangamata, the mangroves don't provide great habitat and they're taking over important eel-grass beds. In this case, the mangroves have cropped up because of poor land management. Forest was cleared on the hills and replaced with pines in an area that was too steep, so that created sedimentation and a prime habitat for mangroves! Hope this answers your question kukupa Cheers, Mandy

kukupa on "Mangrove removal"

kukupa — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:37:18 +0000

Is F&B into this?? <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxf8sGLaw6w&feature=feedu" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxf8sGLaw6w&feature=feedu</a>

auckland anne on "Seaweek 2011"

auckland anne — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:24:27 +0000

Seaweek is nearly upon us. Next week it begins. Here's the website showing the events on all around the country <a href="http://www.seaweek.org.nz/" rel="nofollow">http://www.seaweek.org.nz/</a>