Marine NZ

Northland Marine Habitat Map Report
Author(s): Vince Kerr

The marine technical team at Northland Conservancy has completed a marine habitat map and habitat map report for the Northland section of the Northeast Marine Bioregion. The maps cover an area of 1.34 million hectares extending out 12 nautical miles from the coast between Ahipara in the west to Mangawhai on the east coast.

Habitats were classified according to the Marine Protected Areas Classification, Protection Standard and Implementation Guidelines, with modifications required by insufficient data quality in some areas of the region. Data were collated from a range of recent and historic sources. These data include multibeam and sidescan sonar data from the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research and Land Information New Zealand.  A ‘rapid sonar survey’ technique was developed to fill data gaps for areas not covered by past or recent survey effort. These sources and methods are described to assist in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the current habitat maps and to help implement improvements in this and future work

Rocky reefs make up 14.3% of the mapped area, indicating the presence of a significant array of these habitats. Estuarine areas make up 3.3% of the mapping area and include internationally significant tidal flats, Zostera capricorni seagrass beds and the Avicennia marina mangrove areas of Parengarenga and Rangaunu Harbours.

The use of the habitat maps to identify potential locations for a network of marine protected areas in Northland is discussed and recommendations are made to incorporate this information within decision support tools to assist in planning, education and community engagement. The habitat maps, underlying data and techniques developed also provide a valuable resource for other research and management projects in Northland and elsewhere.

Crayfish at the Leigh Marine Reserve
Author(s): D Egli and R Babcock

The story of the crayfish - Crayfish (Jasus edwardsii) are an important component of temperate reef ecosystems. They have shown a dramatic increase in numbers inside the marine reserve at Leigh, where crayfish numbers are about 4 times higher than in adjacent fished areas. In other reserves the protected population is even higher. Crayfish inside the Leigh reserve are about 10% larger than elsewhere.

2003 Historic Crayfish Report
Author(s): Vince Kerr and Roger Grace

Summer of 2003 subtidal monitoring of crayfish and fishes. Two spotted black grouper present at the end of Pa Point. Red crays numbers remain low, packhorse seen in Mimi area.

Mimiwhangata 2005 historic monitoring
Author(s): Vince Kerr and Roger Grace

In the summer of 2005 monitoring of all ten permanent fish and crayfish transects again completed. Number had dropped event further.

Deep Reef Report
Author(s): Vince Kerr and Roger Grace

Work done in the 70’s at Mimiwhangata (B et.al.1973) can be compared to 2002 side-scan sonar and remote video to allow mapping of the reef habitat to depths of 33 to 72 metres, showed considerable differences. This survey extends to 4km offshore

Poster - Marine Habitat Map of Northland: Mangawhai to Ahipara Vers. 1
Author(s): Vince Kerr

A poster supporting the version 1 map and report

A marine habitat map for the Northland section of the Northeast Marine
Bioregion in New Zealand’s territorial sea has been completed and is
presented in a series of maps. The maps cover an area of 1.34 million
hectares extending out 12 nautical miles from the coast between Ahipara
in the west to Mangawhai on the east coast.

Data were collated from a range of recent and historic sources,
and merged and analysed in ArcGIS 9.3.1 Geographical Information
System. These data include multibeam and sidescan sonar data from
the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research and Land
Information New Zealand. A ‘rapid sonar survey’ technique was developed
to fill data gaps for areas not covered by past or recent survey effort.
These sources and methods are described to assist in understanding
the strengths and weaknesses of the current habitat maps and to help
implement improvements in this and future work.

The use of the habitat maps to identify potential locations for a network
of marine protected areas in Northland is discussed and recommendations
are made to incorporate this information within decision support tools
to assist in planning, education and community engagement.

Map Book - Marine Habitat Map of Northland: Mangawhai to Ahipara Vers. 1
Author(s): Vince Kerr

Ten A3 maps supporting the technical report

A marine habitat map for the Northland section of the Northeast Marine
Bioregion in New Zealand’s territorial sea has been completed and is
presented in a series of maps. The maps cover an area of 1.34 million
hectares extending out 12 nautical miles from the coast between Ahipara
in the west to Mangawhai on the east coast.

Data were collated from a range of recent and historic sources,
and merged and analysed in ArcGIS 9.3.1 Geographical Information
System. These data include multibeam and sidescan sonar data from
the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research and Land
Information New Zealand. A ‘rapid sonar survey’ technique was developed
to fill data gaps for areas not covered by past or recent survey effort.
These sources and methods are described to assist in understanding
the strengths and weaknesses of the current habitat maps and to help
implement improvements in this and future work.

The use of the habitat maps to identify potential locations for a network
of marine protected areas in Northland is discussed and recommendations
are made to incorporate this information within decision support tools
to assist in planning, education and community engagement.

Marine Habitat Map of Northland: Mangawhai to Ahipara Vers. 1
Author(s): Vince Kerr

A marine habitat map for the Northland section of the Northeast Marine
Bioregion in New Zealand’s territorial sea has been completed and is
presented in a series of maps. The maps cover an area of 1.34 million
hectares extending out 12 nautical miles from the coast between Ahipara
in the west to Mangawhai on the east coast.

Data were collated from a range of recent and historic sources,
and merged and analysed in ArcGIS 9.3.1 Geographical Information
System. These data include multibeam and sidescan sonar data from
the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research and Land
Information New Zealand. A ‘rapid sonar survey’ technique was developed
to fill data gaps for areas not covered by past or recent survey effort.
These sources and methods are described to assist in understanding
the strengths and weaknesses of the current habitat maps and to help
implement improvements in this and future work.

The use of the habitat maps to identify potential locations for a network
of marine protected areas in Northland is discussed and recommendations
are made to incorporate this information within decision support tools
to assist in planning, education and community engagement.

Snapper - what have we learned from marine reserves
Author(s): D Egli and R Babcock

The influence of fishing has already permanently altered large portions of marine ecosystems worldwide, yet if left undisturbed by human activity, rich biological communities develop in marine reserves. Exploitation of the sea has become so pervasive that we now talk about “marine reserve effects” when in fact what we are really seeing is how nature could be, in the absence of human transformation.
Marine reserves provide opportunities for recreation and study. All marine life is protected from fishing and other forms of exploitation, enabling fish, shellfish, seaweed and other marine species to flourish and allowing degraded areas to recover.

Hydrographic Surveying in Marine Protected Areas [truncated title]
Author(s): Emily Todd

[Full title: Hydrographic Surveying in Marine Protected Areas: Investigations and Recommendations for Guidelines for Creation and Monitoring]
Hydrographic surveying methods are able to assist the creation and monitoring of a network of marine reserves by providing quantifiably accurate datasets that can be utilized by a variety of end users. This dissertation investigates the requirements for creating and monitoring MPAs, considering both past practises and probable future developments. It demonstrates that hydrographic surveying methods have a vital role to play in the production of data for MPA planning and management. The final chapters of this dissertation develop recommendations for guidelines for hydrographic surveying work in MPAs.