{"id":88694,"date":"2025-10-19T20:20:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T20:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/88694\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T20:20:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T20:20:13","slug":"a-living-lab-nzs-first-marine-reserve-turns-50-university-of-auckland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/88694\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A living lab\u2019 – NZ\u2019s first marine reserve turns 50 \u2013 University of Auckland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Half a century has passed since marine scientists won the battle to establish a marine reserve around Te H\u0101were-a-Maki\/Goat Island, north of Auckland.<\/p>\n

\"Goat<\/p>\n

Goat Island Marine Reserve turns 50 on 26 October.<\/p>\n

Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve became New Zealand\u2019s first no-take marine reserve in 1975 and will celebrate its 50th anniversary on 26 October.<\/p>\n

University of Auckland marine scientists Professor Simon Thrush and Professor Conrad Pilditch say massive transformations have occurred within the marine reserve over the past five decades.<\/p>\n

When the area was first protected, the rocky reefs were bare and looked white in aerial photographs.<\/p>\n

It took almost 30 years for kelp forests to return, providing a nursery for juvenile fish and habitat that saw many species return, says Thrush.<\/p>\n

These days, the reserve features a far higher density of fish and diversity of other marine life than is found outside its boundaries.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s home to parrotfish, black angelfish, blue maomao, red moki, silver drummers, leatherjackets, octopus, and several species of stingrays, while bottlenose dolphins and orcas occasionally pass through.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the first legislated marine reserve in New Zealand, it has provided a place of contrast that has allowed us to demonstrate and understand the level of impact of commercial and recreational fishing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been able to study the recovery of this place, which is a refuge from some forms of human disturbance, mainly fishing,\u201d says Thrush.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The University of Auckland marine laboratory at Leigh in 1975.<\/p>\n

In 1964, the University of Auckland\u2019s Leigh Marine Laboratory opened on the cliffs above the area where the marine reserve was later established.<\/p>\n

The lab\u2019s first director, marine biologist Dr Bill Ballantine, was a key force pushing for the marine reserve to be set up.<\/p>\n

All those years ago, Ballantine was concerned that fish stocks were dwindling and marine ecosystems were declining in the Hauraki Gulf \u2013 though it was in a far better state then, than it is now, says Pilditch.<\/p>\n

Since 1975, Auckland\u2019s population has exploded and recreational and commercial fishing pressures have increased markedly, he says.<\/p>\n

These days, visitors to Te H\u0101were-a-Maki\/Goat Island might experience the marine reserve as like an oasis, teeming with fish.<\/p>\n

However, Pilditch says fish are not as plentiful within the reserve now as they were in the late 1970s.<\/p>\n

Certainly, fish stocks in the reserve remain far below the levels that would have been present before commercial fishing began in the area, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommercial and recreational fishing has increased in the Hauraki Gulf and the marine reserve has been impacted by that over the last few decades, basically because it\u2019s too small.<\/p>\n

\u201cLarge snapper and crayfish sometimes move out of the reserve and get caught, and the outside areas aren\u2019t helping replenish the reserve, because they\u2019re heavily fished,\u201d says Pilditch.<\/p>\n

\"Professor<\/p>\n

Professor Conrad Pilditch says huge transformations have occurred since Goat Island marine reserve was formed.<\/p>\n

Crayfish numbers and sizes began to recover when the marine reserve was established, but have dropped again over the past 10 years.<\/p>\n

Fishing has intensified along the reserve boundaries and numbers of crayfish have dropped in the region, he says.<\/p>\n

Working at Leigh, University of Auckland Associate Professor Nick Shears provided key evidence that crayfish and large snapper play an essential role in keeping marine reef ecosystems healthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese predators eat kina, which otherwise increase in numbers and mow down kelp forests,\u201d says Thrush.<\/p>\n

At Te H\u0101were-a-Maki\/Goat Island it took about 30 years for snapper and crayfish to mature and play their part in lowering kina numbers, allowing kelp forests to regenerate naturally.<\/p>\n

Recent research shows in some places people can speed up kelp restoration by removing kina, but large snapper and crayfish are still needed to maintain the balance long-term, says Thrush.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn land in New Zealand we want to be predator free, but for our seas, we need our predators back,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Another key discovery has been that the reserve’s many mature snapper produce about 10 times more juvenile snapper than are produced from unprotected areas of the same size.<\/p>\n

About 11 percent of young snapper found up to 40 kilometres away from the reserve were offspring of snapper that live in the reserve.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople think you\u2019re locking up areas, but the spillover effect means the reserve is actually enhancing fisheries in the Hauraki Gulf,\u201d says Pilditch.<\/p>\n

The legislation that launched Goat Island marine reserve \u2013 the Marine Reserves Act 1971 – has led to another 43 no-take marine reserves being created in New Zealand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The recently passed Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Bill will make the 556ha Goat Island marine reserve about four times larger, extending the offshore boundary from 800m to 3km.<\/p>\n

Thrush and Pilditch say the marine reserve has demonstrated the value of safeguarding patches of sea, but it has also shown that reserves need to be larger to better protect key species, such as crayfish and snapper, from fishing pressures.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also important to protect different types of habitat,\u201d says Thrush.<\/p>\n

\"Professor<\/p>\n

Professor Simon Thrush says Goat Island marine reserve has proved its value, but bigger reserves are needed.<\/p>\n

Having a \u201cliving lab\u201d observing what happens over 50 years has provided unique insights of international importance, Pilditch says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the impacts of climate change worsen, those historical records and that understanding will be incredibly important, to have a baseline to compare with,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Restoring kelp and fish abundance in the reserve has made the area more resilient to climate change, while also contributing to carbon sequestration, says Pilditch.<\/p>\n

If kelp forests in the Hauraki Gulf were restored, they would be worth about $7.9 million in carbon credits, if they were valued in the same way as land-based forests, says Thrush.<\/p>\n

About 350,000 people visit the reserve annually, mostly to snorkel, dive or take a glass-bottom boat trip to explore the abundance of life beneath the waves.<\/p>\n

Younger generations gain knowledge of the underwater world at the University\u2019s Goat Island Marine Discovery Centre, which is open to the public and offers educational activities to thousands of students each year.<\/p>\n

Pilditch and Thrush say it\u2019s wonderful to see so many people connecting with the world beneath the waves, but they also look forward to seeing new marine protected areas being created when the Hauraki Gulf Marine Protection Bill comes into effect later this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fabulous so many people make the journey there, but we wouldn\u2019t have these numbers of people if the rest of the gulf wasn\u2019t in such a perilous state.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot more places could look like the marine reserve if we managed our oceans better,\u201d says Pilditch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Half a century has passed since marine scientists won the battle to establish a marine reserve around Te…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[66988,66987,390,273,66986,2060,111,43,139,69,7679,66985],"class_list":{"0":"post-88694","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-biodiversity-and-society","9":"tag-centre-for-climate","10":"tag-climate-change","11":"tag-environment","12":"tag-faculty-of-science","13":"tag-marine-science","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-newzealand","17":"tag-nz","18":"tag-science-and-technology","19":"tag-sustainable-impact"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}