Understanding the Peninsula's seabed and marine ecosystems

The next phase of a three-year project taking a deep dive into understanding the seabed and marine ecosystems around Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū/Banks Peninsula is now underway, with the University of Otago appointed as science partner.

In 2021, the project partners - Ōnuku and Wairewa Rūnanga, Environment Canterbury and the Department of Conservation - worked with Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) as part of its national hydrographic survey work, and expanded the survey area around Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū/Banks Peninsula to include shallow coastal areas.

The partners are delighted to have appointed The University of Otago as their science partner. The Otago team will work with the project partners to interpret existing data, and further research will be undertaken to help understand drivers of change and connections between the land and the sea. User-friendly, online maps of the seafloor will be developed, and the knowledge gained will ultimately influence ecosystem and customary fisheries management approaches.

Dr Tim Davie, Environment Canterbury's science director, says the project team is extremely happy to have the University of Otago onboard.

"The University's proposal incorporated a strong community collaboration and engagement element - critical to the success of this work. The scope of what can be delivered from the data and further research is enormous, and input from the community as to what they want to see will help define that."

Throughout the next phase of the project, the team will work with project partners, rūnanga, stakeholders, and the wider community to determine their priorities for understanding and managing coastal ecosystems around Te Pātaka. The project, with an investment of more than $1.9 million through Environment Canterbury's Long-Term Plan 2021-24 and funding from the Department of Conservation, is set to run for another two years, with the intention that it will seed further research opportunities and areas of study.