Blue eyed triplefin, Great Barrier Island
Recreational fishing lobby group, Option4, provided a questionnaire about the GBI marine reserve proposal on its website. About one-third of the comments that the Department of Conservation (DOC) received on the proposal were on the Option4 questionnaire.
In addition to the fields provided by DOC on its questionnaire, the Option4 form contained a number of additional questions formulated by that group. The questions are listed below, with a response from DOC.
1. Do you believe that a co-ordinated approach to marine protection is required before this marine reserve proposal (if it receives support from the public) goes forward as an application?
Government policy, as outlined in the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy 2000, supports a strategy for establishing a network of areas that protect marine biodiversity. Auckland Conservancy is currently working on a strategy which aims to identify a network of areas that protect marine biodiversity in the Hauraki Gulf. It is envisaged that key stakeholders and the wider community will have input into the decision-making processes for this strategy.
However, such an approach may take some time. For example, a strategic approach to marine protection that was undertaken in Victoria, Australia took over ten years to complete and implement. In the absence of a strategic approach, DOC must continue to follow government policy and work towards the target of protecting ten percent of New Zealand's marine environment by 2010.
The proposed GBI marine reserve contains habitats not currently represented in marine protected areas in New Zealand. It is therefore likely that the north-east coast of GBI would fit into a network of marine protected areas in the Hauraki Gulf.
2. Are you concerned that DOC has no intention of arranging public meetings in Auckland to consult with public?
DOC arranged a number of meetings about the Great Barrier Island marine reserve proposal, including two public meetings held in Devonport on 9 July 2003 and Auckland Central on 15 July 2003.
3. Have DOC advertised the process and distributed brochures to your satisfaction? Is their process adequate?
Most marine reserve proposals involve both pre-statutory consultation (occurs before a formal application is made) and statutory consultation (occurs after a formal application has been made).
Pre-statutory consultation, including the production and release of a discussion document or similar and seeking comments on it, is not required under the Marine Reserves Act 1971. There is no process specified under that Act for pre-statutory consultation. However, experience has demonstrated that the pre-statutory consultation assists in deciding whether to proceed with a statutory marine reserve application and if so, what form the proposal might take. The pre-statutory consultation stage does not represent a formal application, which may or may not come at a later stage.
Statutory consultation occurs after a formal marine reserve application has been notified under the Marine Reserves Act 1971. The notification of a marine reserve application and consultation must follow the requirements of the section 5 of the Act.
DOC is currently undertaking pre-statutory consultation about the Great Barrier Island marine reserve proposal. A proposal document, "A Marine Reserve for Great Barrier Island? - Your chance to have a say, and questionnaire was released in March 2003.
Approximately 4,500 proposal documents and questionnaires were distributed to 180 organisations, groups and clubs and approximately 600 individuals. In addition, 6,500 copies were provided for distribution in the NZ Professional Skipper and New Horizons magazines.
Information about the proposal was also available on the department's website, at the department's offices in Auckland, Warkworth and GBI and its Auckland Visitors Centre. Articles appeared in a number of newspapers and magazines, including the NZ Herald, regional Auckland papers, Dominion-Post, Barrier Bulletin, Dive NZ, and Boating NZ. Items also appeared on the following television programmes: Breakfast, TV One News and TV 3 News.
4. What is so unique that it/they require the complete protection of a no take marine reserve in perpetuity?
The Marine Reserves Act 1971 does not specify that an area must be unique to qualify for protection under a marine reserve.
Section 3 of the Marine Reserves Act states that the purpose of the act is to preserve, as marine reserves for the scientific study of marine life, areas of New Zealand that contain underwater scenery, natural features or marine life, of such distinctive quality, or so typical, or beautiful, or unique, that their continued preservation is in the national interest.
Some of the marine habitats on the north-east coast of Great Barrier, such as the deep reefs which contain rare black coral and unusual sponges, are both beautiful and distinctive. The Whangapoua Estuary is distinctive because it is one of the most undisturbed and unmodified estuaries in northern New Zealand. Habitats such as the inshore and offshore sediment areas on the north-east coast of Great Barrier Island are typical.
Most marine reserves are usually established in perpetuity. Studies at Leigh Marine Reserve, which is New Zealand's oldest, have shown continuing recovery towards the natural state even 25 years after the marine reserve's establishment. The benefits of the reserve increase over time so there is little point in squandering the benefits by opening the area to fishing.
5. Why have de-facto marine reserves not been studied or proposed as marine reserves?
Note: this question has been answered on the assumption that the term "de-facto marine reserve" refers to areas around New Zealand that are closed to fishing and/or anchoring such as cable protection zones.
Approximately 165,000 hectares (0.03% of New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone) is made up of cable/pipeline areas that are closed to fishing. Cable protection zones are not established for protecting marine biodiversity, but may have the effect of doing so. If enforced properly, cable protection zones can prevent most activity occurring that may threaten biodiversity values, except for cable laying and maintenance.
DOC has contracted the University of Auckland to undertake some research to increase the understanding of what conservation outcomes may accrue from areas with partial protection or other areas where fishing is prohibited.
Areas that will be studied are Taranaki's Nga Motu/Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Protected Area and the Hauraki Gulf Cable Protection Zone in Auckland. NIWA has conducted research on the effects on the benthos (flora and fauna of the sea bottom) of the closed trawling and dredging areas in the Hauraki Gulf.
There is no reason why some cable protection areas cannot be proposed as marine reserves. However, they may already effectively protect marine biodiversity.
6. Why is fishing the ONLY threat?
Fishing is not the only threat. New Zealand's marine environment faces a number of other threats, including: sediment and nutrient runoff, land and sea-based pollution, introduced marine pests, coastal development etc.
However, fishing does have a major impact on the marine environment:
Fishing increases mortality and affects age distribution, age and size at maturity, growth rates and other life history characteristics;
Fishing affects species composition in fished areas and therefore changes the interactions among fished species and their prey;
Long-term fishing can lead to dominance by species with certain life history characteristics such as early maturation; and
Fishing techniques such as bottom trawling and dredging can alter marine habitats, therefore affecting the diversity of marine habitats and the function of ecosystems.
The increasing pressure on New Zealand shores from fishing and collecting has led to reduction in target species of shellfish and fish, the loss or modification of habitats, major reductions of biomass and changes in population structure including loss of large old individuals, and the disturbance of food chains.
7. What scientific study can be undertaken in a marine reserve that cannot be undertaken whilst fishing continues?
Marine reserves provide an opportunity to study natural, undisturbed marine ecosystems. Scientific study looking at things like the size, abundance and behaviour of fish with the impact of fishing removed is undertaken in some of New Zealand's marine reserves and this research can obviously not take place whilst fishing continues.
Scientific study in marine reserves contributes to knowledge of natural and/or recovered marine ecosystems. For example, study in marine reserves can:
Provide information on predator/prey relationships, interactions between species, species recovery and ecosystems;
Provide control sites for research and ecological benchmarks against which to measure changes; and
Help us understand more natural systems where natural mortality can be compared to fishing mortality.
Specifically, study in marine reserves has shown us that:
Snapper and rock lobster are more abundant and larger inside the Leigh Marine Reserve than outside (Source: Babcock et al, 1999);
Blue cod are larger inside the Long Island-Kokomohua Marine Reserve than outside (Source: Davidson 2001); and
Spill over of rock lobster around Leigh marine reserve and tagged lobster made extended excursions to offshore sand-flats outside the reserve (Source: Kelly, Scott, & MacDiarmid, 2002. The value of spill over fishery for spiny lobsters around a marine reserve in northern NZ. Coastal Management, 30:153-66 and Kelly, 1999. Marine reserves & the spiny lobster, Jasus edwardsii. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Auckland, Auckland).
8. How does DOC intend to address displaced fishing effort and the consequential decline in fishing success in the remaining fishing grounds?
Effort displacement will be partially addressed by locating any new marine reserves in sites so the impact on existing patterns of use will be as little as possible.
If New Zealand achieves the ten percent marine protected area target that has been set by the Government in the NZ Biodiversity Strategy 2000, there will still be 90 percent of New Zealand's marine environment available for fishing.
9. How do marine reserves contribute to improved fishing success? Where is the evidence of those benefits?
The purpose of marine reserves is not fisheries management, or to improve fishing success (see purpose of Marine Reserves Act 1971 in answer to question 4).
Research shows that inside marine reserves species such as snapper and rock lobster are present in greater numbers and are larger. However, there is no conclusive evidence that shows marine reserves contribute to improved fishing success outside reserves.
It is possible that there are benefits that accrue to fishing and fisheries industries from marine reserves but these have yet to be demonstrated conclusively. However, what we do know is:
Marine organisms move in and out of marine reserve areas freely, thus potentially providing benefits to surrounding fished areas;
Spiny lobster were monitored in several marine reserves and it was noted that for each year of protection there were increases of up to nine percent egg production; and
At Leigh Marine Reserve research has shown that CPUE (Catch Per Unit Effort - yield and costs) for lobsters are just the same adjacent to the marine reserve area as in nearby open fished areas.
Marine reserves provide supporting knowledge for the sustainable management of fisheries.
10. What are the fisheries benefits that arise from the declaration of a marine reserve? Where is the evidence of those benefits?
See answer to question 9.
11. What cost/benefit analysis has been done to uphold the claims of economic benefits from tourism etc?
The following research has been undertaken to determine the socio-economic implications of establishing marine reserves including:
Cocklin, Chris and Flood, Sharon. 1992. The socio-economic implications of establishing marine reserves. This report that was prepared for Department of Conservation showed that cash injected into the local economy by visitors to the Hahei marine reserve supplemented the livelihood of local businesses.
In 1995, a survey by Wolfenden, Cram and Kirkwood of community reactions to marine reserves was undertaken in four communities (Hahei, Cooks Beach, Thompson Point and Onetangi Bay on Waiheke Island). Beliefs, attitudes and knowledge regarding marine reserves were explored.
Risely, W. 2002. Impact, knowledge, opinion and usage: a ten year assessment of Te Whanganui-A-Hei Marine Reserve.
Taylor, Nick and Buckenham, Brigid. 2003. Social impacts of marine reserves in New Zealand. Science for Conservation 217. 58p.
The Rodney Economic Development Trust (NB - the trust is funded by the Rodney District Council) undertook a study that showed the Leigh marine reserve contributed $12.5 million per annum to the Rodney district.
Auckland Conservancy undertakes visitor surveys of Leigh marine reserve. The questions that are asked include: the activities visitors undertook, visitor enjoyment/satisfaction of their visit, whether visitors understood the rules of marine reserves, age and nationality details, and how much money visitors spent on their visit (including petrol, food, equipment hire etc).
DOC is currently undertaking a social science research project to investigate what some communities think about the creation of a marine reserve prior to its gazettal and how they viewed its establishment after. The project will also examine any other benefits (aside from biodiversity) that arise through the creation of a marine reserve (i.e. economic benefits).
12. Where else in NZ other than Leigh do marine reserves foster an eco-tourism economy?
The Marine Reserves Act 1971 does not require marine reserves to be established to provide for eco-tourism. The Act states that the public are to have right of entry into marine reserves and some of New Zealand's marine reserves attract people and, as a result, eco-tourism operators have established (eg, Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve, Leigh Marine Reserve, Hahei Marine Reserve).
13. Are the Leigh and Poor Knights examples supported by any proper analysis, and how widely spread are the eco-tourism benefits in Leigh and Tutukaka?
Please see answer to question 11.