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EMR Snorkel Days a focus for Seaweek

06 Mar 2012 | 6 Comments

Experiencing Marine Reserves (EMR) expands its Community Guided Snorkel Days concept around the country for seaweek 2012
Seaweek is hosted by the NZ Association for Environmental Education; Seaweek focuses on learning from the sea. It’s about exciting and inspiring all New Zealanders to renew their connections with the sea! Not just for children or those involved with formal education – it’s a time for all of us to get to know our ocean, its habitats, characteristics and inhabitants better.
Seaweek comprises a wide range of events, activities, opportunities, competitions and calls to action. Seaweek 2012 runs from March 3-11. The theme is: One Ocean – Too Much Love? Turning the Tide. Kaupapa Moana 2012 - 3-11 Pou-tü-te-rangi. Ngä Tai a Tangaroa - He kaha rawa nö te takakino? Ka takahuri te Tai
The 2012 theme explores the wide variety of different uses, passions and expectations of the sea and their conflicts and impacts now and into the future.

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New Zealand Sea Lions Facing Extinction in 24 Years - Study

20 Feb 2012 | 11 Comments

New Zealand sea lions could go extinct in 24 years without tighter restrictions on squid fishing, a study from the Department of Conservation says.

By-catch from fishing is “the most significant known negative impact” on the population and could result in sea lions being functionally extinct by 2035, according to analysis by Department of Conservation scientist Dr Louise Chilvers.

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Dead Dolphin Sparks Call to Extend Set Net Ban

04 Feb 2012 | 7 Comments

A rare dolphin found dead in a Taranaki fisherman’s set net has politicians, environmentalists and commercial fishermen seeking law changes.

The Green Party and Forest & Bird are both calling for the set net fishing exclusion zone on the west coast to be extended after a commercial fisherman caught a rare dolphin off Cape Egmont.

On January 2 he found what he believed to be a dead female Hector’s dolphin in his set net off Cape Egmont.

The man tossed the carcass back into the ocean as required by law and reported the incident to authorities.

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VELVET: the Travelling Tuna Tapestry on Display in Whangarei this Saturday

18 Jan 2012 | 12 Comments

A Project to Help Return the Mauri (Life & Soul) to the Wai (Water)

The Northland based Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust will be showcasing an ambitious international environmental & social art project, in which all visitors are invited to be a part, that focuses on New Zealand’s own native longfin eel!

Several years ago Stephanie Bowman, an artist and science educator from the southwest desert of the United States came to NZ as a traveller longing to experience what she believed to be a land of pristine, healthy waters. But, when she visited the South Island’s Lake Rotoiti she found herself falling in love with a mysterious, graceful (and sometimes slimy!) fish that revealed to her a different story hidden beneath the surface of our blue waters. “The longfin (eel) is simply amazing”, says Stephanie, four round-trip tickets later, but still with a look of astonishment in her eyes. “These threatened and important top predators are found nowhere else in the world and are a crucial part of this country’s cultural history”. Indeed, not only can the longfin eel live over 100 years before being able to reproduce once, but when they do set off out to sea to mate, they morph and become creatures of the ocean depths, travelling thousands of kilometers to the deep sea trenches near Tonga where they
finally mate and die. After making an ancient and risky journey, the elvers (baby eels) re-appear to live in New Zealand’s freshwaters a couple years later.

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Blake’s Spirit Lives On in Expedition to the Kermadecs

12 Jan 2012 | 15 Comments

Sir Peter Blake’s legacy continues 10 years after his murder, as young environmentalists prepare themselves for a voyage to the Kermadec Islands.

A function held in early December at a spot on Auckland’s waterfront where Sir Peter returned triumphant after successfully defending the 2000 America’s Cup, his widow Pippa, Lady Blake, and the Governor-General, Sir Jerry Mateparae, announced the expedition.

The Young Blake Expedition 11-day voyage next August to New Zealand’s remote northern Kermadec Islands on HMNZS Canterbury will be an adventure for 30 New Zealand secondary school students.

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