Taputeranga Marine Reserve

Marine reserve an ecological and recreational gem

(Published 1 August 2008 VicNews)

The Taputeranga marine reserve—officially gazetted by the Government yesterday—will ensure the future of some of New Zealand's most iconic marine species says a marine biologist who has worked for 14 years on the project.
Dr Jonathan Gardner says the Cook Strait region—location of the new 840ha reserve off Wellington's south coast—is a vital and important ecological zone where warmer northern waters mix with cooler waters from the south.

Dr Gardner is the chief scientific adviser to the Marine Reserve Coalition who, in 1995, began work on an application for the reserve, assessing the scientific, cultural and economic values of the region and undertaking ecological surveys.

He says the reserve at Island Bay is the habitat of almost half of New Zealand's seaweed species, and home to rock lobster, paua, blue cod, blue moki and kina among other species of significant cultural value.

These species, Dr Gardner says, will thrive in the reserve that has, until now, been heavily fished. "Based on what we've seen happen at both established reserves like Leigh, and newer ones like Kapiti, we expect these species to bounce back to a healthy population. We also know from experience that local communities step in to take ownership of the reserve, to protect it and to gain a lot of value and connectedness with it.

"Not only is this is a unique zone of important biodiversity, it's right on the doorstep of the capital city. It's an incredible resource for more than 450,000 people in the greater Wellington region, many of whom already get so much out of this charismatic and dynamic stretch of coastline."

In their application, the coalition gained significant community support for a reserve—in three surveys gaining an average 90 per cent support rate—and have widely consulted with community groups, local retail and diving outlets, and iwi groups.

From a scientific point of view he says the reserve represents an invaluable opportunity to see how an exploited marine system will react when the main exploitive factor (heavy fishing pressure) is removed.

Dr James Bell, also a senior marine biologist with the University's Centre for Marine Environmental & Economic Research, says the new reserve will, with the Long Island reserve in the Marlborough Sounds and the Kapiti and Parininihi reserves to the north, represent the starting point for a regional network of marine reserves.

Dr Bell says the Centre will continue to work within the reserve, and we hope to work with the Department of Conservation to monitor the success of the reserve and the organisms it supports.

"Currently we have postgraduate students at Victoria working on a ranging number of projects in the area—mapping the reserve, making baseline surveys to detect future changes, assessing the socio-economic value of marine reserves, the value of stock grown in reserves, the rate of genetic flow between local reserves, and the seaweeds and sponges that make the area so special".

Victoria scientists and students are also at work at other marine reserves in New Zealand—at Long Island, Kapiti, Parininihi, Te Angiangi  and the Kermadec Islands—as well as in Indonesia and Palmyra among other places.

Image: Department of Conservation, Wellington Conservancy

For more information please contact:

Associate Professor Jonathan Gardner, Director of the Centre for Marine Environmental & Economic Research: 04 463 5574.

Dr James Bell, Senior lecturer, School of Biological Sciences: 04 463 5233 x 8104

31 July 2008 Media Release
New marine reserve on Capital’s doorstep by Conservation Minister Steve Chadwick (83KB)

For information on the Announcement of a Marine Reserve for Wellington’s south coast: December 2006 click here