Friends of Taputeranga Marine Reserve Newsletter No 16, February 2014

Taputeranga

How to contact Friends of Taputeranga Marine Reserve:

Acting Chair: Murray Hosking Secretary: Ann McCrone

Contact us at enquiries@taputeranga.org.nz

www.taputeranga.org.nz See us on Facebook too!

Contents:

Report from the Chair

Paua

Compliance and Poaching – an

update

Bits and Pieces

Sea Cucumber

Newsletter edited by Murray Hosking

Sea cucumber Photo: M. Francis

DOC and Friends join forces at the Island Bay Festival this year. Photo: MH

Blackfoot Paua Photo: M. Francis

Have you bought your dive slate yet? Available from local dive shops. A5 size and waterproof!

Report from the Chair

It has been a bumpy old summer, with the few good weather days somehow never quite coinciding with the right tides and times, for me at least to enjoy the reserve to the full. Plenty of people have, though, despite the southerly set to swells and waves for a good part of the time since Christmas. The use the Trail has fully justified the effort to restore all of the buoys which mark the Trail reef. People have been reporting good numbers of larger banded wrasse and blue moki in the shallows at the Trail and the Sirens. Still time to go yet for more exploration of the reserve and its excellent recovery post establishment. We have been working closely with the Department of Conservation on compliance with the rules of the Marine Reserves Act, especially in raising awareness for South Coast residents and high users of the reserve. Encouragement is given, as reported previously, to call the DOCHOTline to report offences and to gather information that will help in prosecutions. In this Newsletter we have short articles on two significant marine reserve residents, paua and sea cucumbers, more on compliance, some bits and pieces of interest including an acknowledgement of an increase in the marine area fully protected by marine reserves, as announced recently by Nick Smith. These represent the culmination of hard work by many people over many years in some cases, and we salute the dedication of those who worked through the case for full protection at Akaroa Harbour, at the Sub Antarctic Islands and on the West Coast, South Island. The man who worked so hard for the first marine reserve near Leigh, Bill Ballantine, has a new paper in press exhorting those involved in marine protection globally to accept the case is proven and to get on with the establishment of adequate protection for marine environments. New Zealand may have invented the marine reserve, but progress has been fitful at best, with the initiatives to really work holistically on completing a network of strong marine protected areas somehow lost in changing political fortunes. Seaweek is coming up and the Friends will be involved. We have a Photo Competition closing on 5 March, so go to the website www.taputeranga.org.nz for the rules of entry. All entries will be displayed at Reading Cinemas after the judging. Get clicking, or fish out your recent photos and send then in to enquiries@taputeranga.org.nz My grateful thanks to all Trust Board and Members helping in a host of ways to assist DOC and to help realise the benefits of the marine reserve. Murray Hosking Acting Chair

Banded Wrasse, Sirens Photo: MH

Seaweek 1 to 9 March 2014 at a beach near you! Go to http://seaweek.org.nz/events/wellington/#photo for a list of all of the activities around the Wellington region and get involved!

DOC rangers check lobster pot buoys near Taputeranga Marine Reserve

Paua – from our Marine Life pages

Paua are commonly found along rocky coasts in low intertidal and high subtidal waters in depths down to 10 m. They are flat-coiled, ear-shaped gastropods, have a pair of eyes, a mouth at the front (under the pointy end of the shell). They possess tentacles which may sometimes be seen at the edge of the foot and through the shell holes. Paua breathe through gills which are near their mouth under a row of exhaling pores in the shell. Juvenile paua less than 7 cm occur in crevices and under stones while adult paua are more exposed on cobbles, boulders and smooth rock surfaces. On the Wellington South Coast both blackfoot paua (16 - 18 cm), Haliotis iris, and ‘silver paua’ or yellowfoot paua (8 - 10 cm), Haliotis australis, are common. There is a smaller, third species present, whitefoot or virgin paua, Haliotis virginea, which reaches 5 cm.

Paua eat seaweed. They are most active at night, moving freely about on the surface of rocks, clamping and feeding on pieces of floating seaweed. Apparently, they return to the same home spot by morning. While paua can clamp tightly to substrate with their muscular ‘foot’ they are vulnerable when moving or otherwise detached. This is notably so when paua are removed and casually discarded by divers, especially if even slightly damaged in removal from rocks. Paua flesh bleeds easily and that will attract predators. Paua reproduce by broadcast spawning, releasing thousands of sperm and eggs into the water through the holes in their shells. Eggs hatch into microscopic larvae which after a week settle on the bottom of the ocean and start to develop shells. The survival rate of paua is very low since many juveniles do not find a suitable habitat in which to grow, and are subject to high predation while small. They are eaten by lobster, crabs, sea stars, octopus and fish. Young paua may be ‘smothered’ by sea stars, by covering the breathing pores, forcing the paua to detach from their rocks Paua are known as abalone elsewhere, being part of some 56 + species of Haliotis worldwide. They have long been prized as food and as a source of ornamental jewelry and

Blackfoot paua, Haliotis iris, carrying coralline red

algae and brown seaweed. Photo: M. Francis

Yellowfoot paua, Haliotis australis, showing white tentacles at the shell holes and underside. Photo: M. Francis

decoration, even as a form of currency. The ‘peacock’ colours of blackfoot paua depend very much on the seaweed upon which they feed. The other two NZ species are more conservatively coloured but also attractive pink, green and silver. Regrettably, there is an extensive global black market for abalone meat. Paua poaching is a major ‘industry’ in New Zealand. Many tonnes of paua are taken illegally, often under legal size. Paua represent an ongoing target of illegal gathering of seafood in Taputeranga Marine Reserve. Paua are gathered recreationally and commercially (outside marine reserves) but strict catch limits are set for both. For recreational fishers this is ten of each species of paua per person per day. The Ministry of Primary Industries has set minimum legal size for caught paua at 125 mm for Haliotis iris and 80 mm for Haliotis australis, measured in a straight line at the greatest length of the shell. Paua can only be taken by free diving; it is illegal to dive for paua using Scuba equipment. All paua must remain un-shucked until they are on the land side of the high tide mark so fishery officers can inspect them if required. Paua should be measured in situ if likely to be undersized, and, if these are inadvertently removed, should be placed foot down back on rocky surfaces to minimise the time before reattachment. They will not survive if dumped onto sandy or mud substrates. Sources: Summarised from Beu and Marshall, ‘Taputeranga Marine Reserve’, edited by Gardner and Bell, VUW; Ministry of Primary Industries’ website; Paua Industry Council; ‘Which Seashell?’ by Andrew Crowe, published by Penguin, 1999.

Compliance and Poaching at Taputeranga – An Update. In our September Newsletter Number 14 (http://taputeranga.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/Friends-of-Taputeranga-Marine-Reserve-Newsletter-Issue-14.pdf ), we summarised poaching, and looked at work to improve compliance with the Marine Reserves Act. We included some information forms that are useful as a guide to gathering and recording what can be observed about suspected offences. These forms can be found at http://taputeranga.org.nz/the-marine-reserve/poaching-and-compliance-at-the-marine-reserve/ and these remain current for use if anyone sees or suspects a poaching event at the marine reserve. The Friends and DOC called a public meeting at Island Bay in early December to bring together concerned local residents for an opportunity to be briefed on the compliance work of DOC and to discuss ways that local people can help. Both Friends and DOC people at the meeting were surprised to discover that, while there was clear support for the reserve, there

Polished blackfoot paua, sought after as tourist souvenirs. Photo: MH

was considerable uncertainty in the local community about the rules for the reserve and how to go about reporting incidents. It was clarified that the fundamental rule for marine reserves anywhere is ‘no take’, that is no fishing and no gathering of marine life anywhere in the

reserve up to the boundary at MHWS. All marine life is fully protected. Penalties under the Marine Reserves Act 1971 can be considerable, including fines and loss of fishing gear, vehicles and boats. Ignorance of the rules is not a strong defence so long after the reserve has been established. The public group were strongly supportive of getting good information out to the community and some people expressed a keenness to remain in contact with the Friends and DOC for compliance at the reserve. Some of them carried out a mail drop to get the information sheets out locally. It is staggering that some offences continue in broad daylight, e.g. with workmen in high visibility vests observed prying paua off the rocks with screwdrivers at low tide! The ability of DOC rangers to respond rapidly to calls to the DOCHOT line will always be a challenge and an initiative is being developed to identify people close to the South Coast bordering on the reserve prepared to assist more directly when incidents are reported. It is possible, for example, that local people may be able, once alerted, to attend at a reported incident to pick up the valuable information that can lead to successful prosecutions. Individuals in this corps of ‘Reserve Watchers’ might, for example, be called up by DOC to observe and help in this way, by calling through a list of potentially available ‘watchers’ until someone is able to respond while DOC itself comes from further afield. The community can expect active recruitment to the group, with a further meeting in mind when plans for the effort are better formulated.

Bits and Pieces

‘New Zealand Seaweeds – An Illustrated Guide’ by Wendy Nelson. – Wendy has taken on the daunting task of describing around 250 of New Zealand’s seaweeds. While there is so much yet to do in the finding, naming and classifying our seaweeds, this guide is a much needed reference. It is especially useful to get to grips with the broad diversity of kelps and seaweeds on Wellington’s South Coast. Excellently illustrated and very easily navigated, the guide is invaluable for serious students and also to casual readers. Published in November 2013, the guide is available at Te Papa stores.

Target for poachers – rock lobster Photo: Danica Stent

Paua – the marine reserve gives full protection! Photo: Danica Stent

MarineMate App – This app is available for your iPhone or Android device, and is a New

Zealand app developed by Mogeo in association with Maritime New Zealand and some regional authorities, most notably the Waikato Regional Council. It provides a host of information useful to boaties, fishers and maritime users in general. One can find tides for your region, area notices, boat ramps, regional boating information and safety equipment advice. There is a link to an app with the NZ Fishing Rules. Using your current location you can navigate across Google maps and check out local restricted areas such as the shipping channels and speed constraints. There is one glaring omission, which FoTMR has drawn to the attention of the developers and DOC – there is no image of marine reserve boundaries, or even mention of their existence. We will be monitoring the updates to this app to press for this vital information to be included.

Changes in fish assemblages comparing marine reserves and partially protected areas.

– This new paper summarises research over 5 years in sanctuary zones and areas partially protected in NSW marine parks. It is relevant to the issues raised in Newsletter 15 with the NSW government giving approval not to enforce no-fishing compliance on shore fishing in marine park sanctuary zones. The reference isL Kelaher BP, Coleman MA, Broad A, Rees MJ, Jordan A, Davis AR. (2014) Changes in Fish Assemblages following the Establishment of a Network of No-Take Marine Reserves and Partially-Protected Areas. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0085825 http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0085825&representation=PDF. The researchers used Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) to quantify fish communities on rocky reefs at 20–40 m depth annually between 2008 and 2011. Fish abundances were 38% greater across the network of marine reserves (sanctuary zones) compared to the partially-protected areas, although not all individual reserves performed equally. Overall, results demonstrate conservation benefits to fish assemblages from a newly established network of temperate marine reserves. The richness and abundance of fishes did not consistently differ between the two types of partially-protected areas. There was no evidence that the more regulated, partially-protected areas had additional conservation benefits for reef fish assemblages over unprotected areas within the park. It will be interesting to see whether allowance of shore fishing and gathering will depress fish abundance in sanctuary zones in future studies.

New Marine Reserves: From a Press Release by New Zealand Government 12

Feb 2014 ‘The process to establish three large marine reserves in the Subantarctic Islands is almost complete with Parliament passing a bill through its third and final reading, Conservation Minister Dr Nick Smith said today’. (Tuesday Feb 11) “This new law, when enacted, will create 435,000 hectares of new marine reserves surrounding the Antipodes, Bounty and Campbell Islands in New Zealand’s remote Subantarctic ocean. The significance of these three new reserves is their huge size, near pristine state and remoteness. Their marine reserve status means there can be no fishing, no mining and no petroleum exploration within the protected areas,” Dr Smith says. “The process to create these three marine reserves was led by the Subantarctic Marine Protection Planning Protection Forum, which recommended additional protection in 2010. The bill was introduced to Parliament in 2012, considered by the select committee in 2013, passed its second reading on 28 January and its third reading today. “The bill needs to receive the Royal assent from the Governor-General. The new marine reserves will take effect at a formal ceremony on Campbell Island during a regular service visit by HMNZS Wellington on 2 March.

“These three marine reserves expand the proportion of New Zealand’s territorial sea that is protected from 7.1 per cent to 9.5 per cent, and helps to achieve the target of 10 per cent as part of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

FoTMR Comment on the above Press Release: The majority of marine reserves

are around our remote off-shore islands (Sub Ants and Kermadecs). Only 0.2% of our territorial seas surrounding the three main islands is protected in marine

reserves (32 MRs currently). This will increase to 0.3% once the next 6 marine

reserves are established (Akaroa and the 5 West Coast marine reserves).

Sea Cucumbers – Not for the Summer Salad

Sea cucumbers are echinoderms, like sea stars, urchins and feather stars, and are thus part of a very broadly ranging group of animals across the depth and breadth of the oceans of the world. The common sea cucumber, or rori, (Stichopus mollis), is abundant in the waters of the Taputeranga Marine Reserve, especially on the sands and muds to the north of the Island and around the boat moorings in Island Bay. It can be readily seen on sands and cobbles around the Snorkel Trail in shallow and deeper waters. The name describes body shape rather than something you might want to slice up for a summer salad, The species ranges from black to almost white, with shades of brown and yellow brown in between. They should not be confused with sea hares, which are molluscs. Like other echinoderms, sea cucumbers can have an internal skeleton, although usually reduced to microscopic spicules or plates in some species. Rather body structure is given shape by collagen fibres in the body wall, giving the animal a leathery skin and an ability to squeeze through narrow crevices and holes. They can crawl slowly, by contractions in the muscles of the body wall or with small tube feet. Sea cucumbers feed on plankton and the detritus of the sea floor, digging into sand and mud with short tentacles. Some will position themselves in currents so that they can take in food pieces that flow by. Sea cucumbers are very common in large numbers in the detritus beneath mussel farms. These animals have no eyes nor a true brain. A variety of nerve endings at the body wall provide sensory information. The sea cucumber breathes through its bottom. It uses its respiratory filaments to take oxygen from the water. These ‘trees’ branch out inside the animal in the region of the anus so when they ‘breathe’ the water in, it enters and then is expelled through the anus. In some parts of the world’s oceans sea cucumbers can comprise a majority of marine biomass in deeper waters. The strawberry sea cucumber of Fiordland can exist in masses of up to 1000 individuals per square metre of rocky wall. This a spectacularly bright, scarlet species, with delicate tentacles, living down to 1000 m below sea level. Some cucumbers

Strawberry Sea Cucumber, Fiordland Photo: Ian Skipworth

eject sticky fibres as a defense mechanism, whilst others may eject a good part of their internal organs along with poisons to discourage predation. They may also do this as a means of eliminating waste, and the internal parts will grow back. Sea cucumbers are an edible resource, regarded as delicacies in tropical climates, where they may be known as bêche-de-mer or trepang. They are included in the NZ Quota Management System. Annual wild catch in New Zealand seas is reported at about 20 tonnes. Cucumbers were traded by Australian aborigines with Asian peoples to the north, centuries ago. Preparations from sea cucumbers are also used in folk medicines and some species are being investigated as sources of modern pharmaceuticals. There is potential for aquaculture of sea cucumbers. Sources: Animal Planet Wikipedia NIWA Sciblogs

Sea Cucumber, Sirens Photo: MH