Erect-crested penguins are one of the most mysterious birds on the planet. We have little idea how many there are, what they eat, where they forage, or how their environment may be changing as the Southern Ocean warms. No one has even visited the Bounty Islands where they breed in three years. Scientist Thomas Mattern chartered a yacht and mounted a mission to answer some of these urgent questions before it’s too late.
The NGO Environmental Law Initiative (ELI) took the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries to the High Court in October, challenging the decision on the total allowable catch of crayfish in Northland. (As part of a no-holds-barred commitment to oceans journalism, New Zealand Geographic was involved in preparing and presenting the case.) ELI contended that the advice to the minister was “inaccurate, misleading, and unsupported by peer-reviewed and published literature”, and that the minister had failed to consider the “interdependence of species” in the marine environment that ultimately leads to trophic collapse—the kina barrens that New Zealand Geographic reported on in November 2021. The court found that the fisheries decisions were “unlawful” and ordered Minister David Parker to remake the decision based on best-available information, considering the wider impacts of rock-lobster fishing and taking a precautionary approach. This sets a precedent for other decisions and may accelerate an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management that has long been proposed by those concerned about environmental impacts of human activity in the seas.
In 1975, New Zealand established the world’s first marine reserves, which became the gold standard for marine conservation and environmental outcomes. Half a century later we lag far behind the rest of the world in protecting our marine estate—an approach more similar to Russia and China than states most Kiwis would consider hold similar environmental values. New Zealand has not commited to the United Nations goal of 30% marine protection by 2030 and the Labour government has failed to meet its own goal of 10% protection by 2020. “For decades New Zealand has played an important role in ocean governance, opposing whaling, reducing by-catch and advocating for the elimination of fisheries subsidies,” says Bronwen Golder, a Kiwi, and fellow at the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions. “So it’s staggering that we’re not more active in protecting the marine environment to ensure its health, productivity and resilience in the face of climate change, pollution and fishing pressure.”
Land is owned, but the sea is shared. And we haven’t been sharing very well.
There's no machine better than a trusty Landy on an 88-kilometre-long road made entirely of sand. Just ask the legends of the Snapper Classic.
At 5.30am this morning Ngāti Paoa tohunga and kaumātua looked out over the wide expanse of Oneroa Bay, on the north coast of Waiheke Island, and laid down a rāhui.
Wānaka has enough outdoor activities to fill multiple holidays, but it’s the landscape that lingers in memory.
The Hauraki Gulf is at breaking point. Relentless fishing, for more than a century, has slowly dismantled the ecosystem. Here's what we're left with.
This magazine is a small miracle.
Bill Morris toured the South Island listening to the stories of skeletons.
Fibonacci spiral
Jellyfish
Brett Phibbs takes on the essential service of documenting an unprecedented month in New Zealand history.
The once abundant Hauraki Gulf is on the brink of collapse, and while science is clear on how to repair it, many are putting rights before responsibilities. Here’s what needs to happen.
Poppy Rock Painting
Volcano
Spider web hunt
A short history of New Zealand Geographic, who we are and where we're going.
Together-at-homers trace out the 3.1-metres wingspan of a mighty Antipodean albatross.
3
$1 trial for two weeks, thereafter $8.50 every two months, cancel any time
Already a subscriber? Sign in
Signed in as . Sign out
Ask your librarian to subscribe to this service next year. Alternatively, use a home network and buy a digital subscription—just $1/week...
Subscribe to our free newsletter for news and prizes
