Te Paepae o Aotea (Volkner Rocks) - Protecting our seas video
Clip duration: 2 minutes
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About the clip
What you’ll see
This clip begins with aerial shots of the offshore pinnacles this reserve surrounds and the nearby volcanic, White Island. Below the surface some sub-tropical species then a range of pelagic species are seen. Then an array of more typical species from the reserve, dense schools of blue maomao and charismatic moray eels.
Yellow-fin tuna, kingfish and blue sharks are seen, including one blue shark being measured by researchers. A diver is surrounded by kingfish and a map shows locations in the Tasman Sea where tagged tuna have been found to travel. The blue shark appears again, with a shot of one being tagged and released followed by a map, superimposed over one swimming mid-water, showing locations in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, including Chile, where they have been found to travel to.
What you’ll learn
This Marine Reserve protects a group of offshore pinnacles at the edge of the continental shelf just north of White Island. This is the southern end of the influence of the sub-tropical East Auckland Current and subsequently colourful subtropical visitors, such as the toadstool grouper and banded coral shrimp, can occasionally be seen.
The stunning array of marine life found here includes jason’s nudibranch, diadema urchins, firebrick stars, zooanthids, Spanish lobster, large schools of blue maomao, blue moki, scorpionfish and moray eels.
Tagging studies of the pelagic species yellow-fin tuna, kingfish and blue sharks have shown that both the yellow-fin tuna and blue sharks travel vast distances throughout the Tasman Sea. Blue sharks tagged in New Zealand have been tracked travelling to locations throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans, even as far as Chile.
Kingfish however, which are known to travel widely elsewhere, have been found to be resident to this area showing little interaction even with nearby coastal populations.