Marine Reserves The New Zealand Experience Compiled by Bill Ballantine Leigh Marine Laboratory, University of Auckland

The world centred on NZ

The South West Pacific

The New Zealand Region

Usual Map

Land Habitats

Marine Habitats !

Little Barrier Island – 1 st land reserve 1888 Leigh – 1 st marine reserve 1975

The rules in Marine Reserve 1. No fishing - by big boats

or little boats

No fishing by anyone

2. No constructions

3. No dumping or filling

4. No disturbances

Marine reserves are pieces of the sea that are left undisturbed so that - They continue in their natural state Or recover towards the natural state

The problem is we do not know much about life in the sea – it is out of sight

Most countries try - 1. To protect the large special things

2. To sustain fisheries

3. And some oddments

But these things are only a tiny part of life in the sea

Marine life is abundant, varied, complex and different from life on land

It is even difficult to tell the plants from the animals

If we have places in the sea where there are no disturbances – would these marine reserves have any use?

We could them to find out what is natural, and what we have changed.

Counting fish – a place to start

But even well-meant disturbances matter – like people feeding fish

So in the reserve fish mob the divers while outside they flee

Do we believe the fish counts that show more fish in the reserve than outside?

Check by fishing ! (with barbless hooks)

Results of 4 surveys for snapper Inside the reserve

Outside reserve

The tagging system – inject coloured latex

Into a fin ray – this one yellow in a tail fin ray

Third method of counting fish. Video camera over a bait box

No divers, no hooks, just sit in the boat and watch on video

Cheaper Easier No harm to fish So taken to many other places including the Poor Knights Islands

Some fishing at Poor Knights till November 1998

No increase at places still fished

Movement matters Fish can be tracked with acoustic tags

And their position fixed with sound receivers

One snapper’s range in a week

With the first two marine reserves we learnt important new things about snapper – although snapper were the best studied fish

Also new things about rock lobster

Complex movements

New behaviour

Changes with time

Heavily fished species increase inside marine reserves but this is only the start of the story -

The big changes are to habitats

In 1976 the commonest sub-tidal reef habitat was grazed by sea-urchins

But with protection predators not only become commoner, they also grow larger

Large lobsters can open large sea urchins

Inside the reserve, 30% of tethered sea urchins are eaten within 24 hours – outside almost none.

Urchin “barrens” like this in 1976

Are now kelp forest

Marine Reserves give everyone more opportunity to see and appreciate the full range of marine life.

In displays on land

In visits to the shore

Or directly in the sea

Whole classes of children go snorkelling

And can see bottom living fish – such as skates

Fish in the water column, such as sweep

Fish in the kelp forest, such as snapper

A natural abundance of fish

A glass-bottomed boat will do

Or just watch it on film

Is this education, recreation or tourism?

What is the target audience or market?

Is it just people?

Compressing a 30 year story into 30 minutes means a lot of simplification. Most of the things that happened in the reserve were complete surprises. We are still learning. Recently we learnt more about fish feeding

Many people, especially children enjoyed feeding the fish

This produced feeding frenzies

Angela Parsons, a young part-time ranger said this was wrong in a marine reserve

She wrote and put up this sign – and the feeding stopped

An illustration from a pamphlet about fish and other animals in the reserve

A female ‘spotty’, a small common labrid fish

A male ‘spotty’ All are female first, but change sex at 3 years

The only stakeholders I recognize are our grandchildren – the rest of us are users.

What are we going to leave them?

End of Part 1 Thanks to all the research workers and photographers who supplied material for this presentation – especially Kim WesterskovJohn Walsby Tony AylingGeoff Jones Roger GraceHoward Choat Allie MacDiarmidChris Battershill Shane KellyMike Kingsford Russ Babcock Trevor Willis Nick ShearsDarren Parsons Tim HaggittTim Langlois

Part 2 Principles for SYSTEMS of marine reserves Bill Ballantine, Leigh Marine Laboratory New Zealand

Written for a workshop at the UBC Fisheries Center, Vancouver in 1997 I was specially invited, so I tried to upgrade:- (a) from single reserves to systems (b) from particular aims to principles

Basic Principles 1. Representation 2. Replication 3. Network Design 4. Sustainable Amount

Need a real example to explain these principles North-east New Zealand

1. Representation All regions require marine reserves. In each region, all major habitats must be represented in reserves. Test with just 4 major habitats -

Harbours and Estuaries sheltered shallow enclosed

Sheltered waters less than 50 m not open to ocean storms and swell

Open coast and inner shelf

Outer shelf and open sea

Existing reserves represent all four major habitats

2. Replication At least three separate (in space) examples of each major habitat. Many reasons including: scientific, conservation, and social

Adding 8 more reserves would replicate each major habitat

3. A Network Design A network spread over the region to encourage connections by larval dispersal.

A further 8 reserves would provide such a network

Existing reserves provide few connections

But 24 reserves provide many connections

4. A Sustainable Amount The system must be large enough to maintain itself. This amount is not known precisely. It is unlikely to be less than 10% (or more than 50%). So establishing at least 10% immediately is a sensible programme.

This is 10% of the whole region and 10% of each habitat

That completes the scientific principles. But science only indicates the constraints. Many possibilities exist within these and which of these are chosen is subject to the full democratic process.

The blue squares show one of the alternatives.

The example given was for 10% This would be the minimum for science, education and recreation. At least 20% would be needed for adequate conservation. At least 30% would be needed to maximise benefits to fisheries

There is much to be done, and time is not on our side.