Facts
Why is this area important?
Paterson Inlet/Te Whaka ā Te Wera is a shallow ria - an ancient river valley that has been submerged - and provides one of the largest sheltered harbours in southern New Zealand.
Blue cod, Paterson Inlet
Because the rivers that flow into it drain from pristine, undeveloped land, they carry little sediment or nutrient run-off. As a result, inlet waters nurture a prolific range of plants and animals. The lack of sedimentation has created a unique situation where many species, including kina, sea cucumbers, starfish and brachiopods, are equally at home on both rocky and soft inlet floors.
Paterson Inlet is also an important habitat and nursery for at least 56 species of marine fish. The mixing of warm, subtropical and cool, subantarctic waters in the currents around Stewart Island/Rakiura has created and environment with similarities to both regions and added to the diversity of species found within the inlet.
Brachiopods or lamp shells are the most ancient of filter feeding shellfish. They were abundant in prehistoric oceans at the dawn of life 300 to 550 million years ago during the Palaeozoic period. Today their fossils are common but living examples are comparatively rare.
Paterson Inlet is home to brachiopod species that live both on rock and sediment, thriving at depths of less than 20 metres. This makes the inlet one of the richest and most accessible brachiopod habitats in the world.
Paua in Paterson Inlet, Stewart Island
Stewart Island/Rakiura has more varieties of seaweed than anywhere else in New Zealand. Paterson Inlet is home to 70% of them, including 56 brown, 31 green and 174 red kelp species. Seaweed forests provide habitat, protection and food to support diverse populations of fish invertebrates and marine mammals. Meadows of small red seaweed grow on the sand. They help to stabilise sediment as well as providing an important shelter for scallops, and a surface for spat and larvae to settle on.
The marine reserve is surrounded by Te Waka ā Te Wera/Paterson Inlet Mātaitai Reserve. The mātaitai reserve prohibits commercial fishing and manages recreational fisheries levels to ensure the sustainability of important traditional Māori fishing and food gathering areas.
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