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Multiple threats leave Hauraki Gulf in uncharted waters, report finds
One of New Zealand’s greatest taonga, the Hauraki Gulf, is in trouble due in part to overfishing, excessive sediment and the impact of climate change, a new report says.
The Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, Tīkapa Moana, Te Moananui-ō-Toi, spans some 14,000 square kilometres from Te Arai to Waihi.
It is the seabird capital of the world, home to resident tohorā, and around 2 million people live by its shores.
A State of the Environment Report , released on Thursday, shows the marine park is experiencing continued ecological collapse.
It was facing multiple threats such as overfishing, excessive sediment and nutrient runoff and catastrophic climate changes.
The report also found marine heat waves, invasive seaweeds, more frequent storms and acidifying waters all posed serious new threats to the health of the gulf.
This comes just days after the government announced a fisheries plan for the gulf and a new set of marine protection areas.
Hauraki Gulf Forum co-chair Toby Adams said the latest report painted a grim picture of the current health of the Hauraki Gulf.
He said seabirds were struggling to feed their chicks, scallop beds were dwindling, and rising kina numbers were some of the problems to have arisen since the last report in 2020.
Photo: Supplied / Shaun Lee
Adams said the best defence was to restore and protect the Hauraki Gulf at a community and government level.
This is the seventh report, following a succession of previous reports expressing concerns about environmental loss, degradation and inadequate responses to many of the issues impacting the gulf.
The 2023 findings also suggested Aotearoa was on the cusp of delivering important changes to improve biodiversity and environmental outcomes.
It found the gulf’s resilience could be improved, as long as policymakers acted quickly and at scale.
It said creating new marine protected areas would be an important part of the solution and would cost comparatively little.
Dealing with land-based contaminants was arguably much harder, particularly for the sediment generated during extreme weather events, the report said.
The waters of Hauraki Gulf. Photo: Supplied / Shaun Lee
Fishing
The total reported commercial catch of fish in the most recent three-year period was around 21,000.
Blue mackerel and snapper continued to be the two main species caught. Snapper landings were similar, but blue mackerel landings have decreased by 22 percent over the past three years.
The use of commercial methods that disturb the seabed have declined, with 27 percent fewer bottom trawls and 21 percent fewer Danish seines (a type of fishing used to catch species on the ocean floor) conducted.
A school of blue mackerel. Photo: 123RF
Mass mortalities
Mass mortalities of fish, shellfish and seabirds were likely to become increasingly common due to the impacts of climate change, the report noted.
Mass mortalities of sponges have occurred already due to prolonged marine heatwaves.
Algae
A previously restored mussel reef near Waiheke Island. Photo: Sharun Lee, Revive the Gulf
Aotearoa’s first recorded cases of shellfish poisoning caused by harmful algae occurred in 1992.
Since then, 19 harmful algal blooms have occurred in the marine park that resulted in closures or public warnings.
Auckland Museum’s head of natural sciences, Tom Trnksi, said the gulf has been on a downward trajectory for years.
He said it was frustrating how long it was taking to establish any new marine protected areas.
”The increase of any useful marine protection is going from .3 percent to 6 percent which is well below what is considered best practice of what is considered a 30 percent target of marine protection.”
Trnksi said over-fishing was not the only stress on the area, with factors like climate change also playing a part.
”We have to stop considering the gulf as an extraction basket solely; it is actually an eco-system and there are multiple stresses coming from land, human use and the sea.”
Over-fishing, extreme weather events and excessive sediment made the area less resilient, meaning it could not recover from major events.
VIA RNZ
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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