Tagged: environment aotearoa 2015

These data provide a snap shot of beach litter surveys submitted by Citizen Scientist ‘Monitoring Groups’ up to April, 2019. As defined by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP, 2009), marine litter is any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of, abandoned or lost in the marine and coastal environment. Marine litter washed onto beaches is one of the most obvious signs of marine pollution, and can have either land or sea-based origins. Land-based sources of marine litter include input from rivers, sewage and storm water outflows, tourism and recreation, illegal dumping, and waste disposal sites. Sea-based sources include commercial shipping, fisheries and aquaculture activities, recreational boating and offshore installations.

UNEP, 2009. Marine Litter: A Global Challenge. Nairobi: UNEP. 232 pp.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

This data measures the presence and spread of selected non-indigenous species (key species) in New Zealand’s high risk ports and marinas each year. It also measures how far these key species have spread.

Many non-indigenous species arrive in New Zealand waters and have little impact or cannot survive; others establish and have a negative impact on our native habitats and species. Determining that a species has established depends on existing population data, expert taxonomist knowledge, and sites of detection. For example, species are only considered established if detected on natural or permanent artificial habitat (Seaward & Inglis, 2018). Established non-indigenous species can compete with, and prey on, indigenous species, modify natural habitats, and alter ecosystem processes. This can threaten marine biodiversity, our cultural and natural heritage, as well as economic activities, such as commercial and recreational fishing and boating, shellfish harvesting, and aquaculture.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

This data measures the number of detected and established non-indigenous (non-native) species new to New Zealand each year.

Many non-indigenous species arrive in New Zealand waters and have little impact or cannot survive; others establish and have a negative impact on our native habitats and species. Determining that a species has established depends on existing population data, expert taxonomist knowledge, and sites of detection. For example, species are only considered established if detected on natural or permanent artificial habitat (Seaward & Inglis, 2018). Established non-indigenous species can compete with, and prey on, indigenous species, modify natural habitats, and alter ecosystem processes. This can threaten marine biodiversity, our cultural and natural heritage, as well as economic activities, such as commercial and recreational fishing and boating, shellfish harvesting, and aquaculture.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Extreme wave events can damage marine ecosystems and affect coastal infrastructure, ocean-based industries, and other human activities.

Changing wave characteristics can have impacts on natural systems, as most coastal and near-shore biological communities can be damaged or destroyed by extreme wave action (Ummenhofer & Mehl, 2017). In another example, extreme waves can disrupt ferries such as those crossing the Cook Strait. Sailings are often cancelled when significant wave heights exceed six metres.

It is important to report on extreme waves to gain greater insight into their frequency, particularly as sea level and storm surges are projected to increase and can compound wave effects.

In this dataset, an extreme wave event is defined as a continuous 12-hour period during which the significant wave height equals or exceeds one of three height thresholds: four, six, or eight metres.

Four-metre-tall waves are considered extreme in the northern-most parts but are more common in the south. For the southern-most parts of New Zealand, eight-metre waves better represent extreme wave events.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

This indicator measures the rise in annual mean coastal sea level relative to land. The national mean is derived from four long-term monitoring locations across New Zealand: Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Lyttelton. We also report the trends over time, from the beginning of our records until 2018. Relative sea-level rise includes the vertical land movement of the surrounding area (for example, a sinking landmass increases the rise in ocean sea level).

We report the change in annual mean coastal sea level to 2018 against the established baseline (mean sea level for 1986–2005) for the long-term sites plus an additional two sites: Moturiki (Mount Maunganui) and New Plymouth. These are not included in the national mean due to shorter records. We also measure the national annual sea-level rise for two time periods: the start of the records to 1960, and 1961–2018.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

This indicator measures the amount of phytoplankton in ocean water around New Zealand using satellite data. Phytoplankton are microscopic algae and primary producers, meaning they enable those higher up the food web to survive. Phytoplankton growth is affected by the availability of nutrients and light, which in turn are affected by the structure of the upper water column. Large-scale changes to climate and oceanographic conditions can change the water column structure and thus lead to changes in phytoplankton growth and primary productivity. Phytoplankton growth supports marine organisms throughout the marine environment, including fish, mammals, and seabirds (Pinkerton et al, 2019). We monitor the changes in phytoplankton by measuring chl-a concentration to provide an understanding of how marine ecosystems are changing. This affects the services we rely on for economic, cultural, and recreational purposes, such as fisheries (Nixon & Buckley, 2002).

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

The marine economy shows the contribution marine-based economic activities make to the New Zealand economy as measured by gross domestic product (GDP). Measuring the marine economy shows how New Zealand’s marine environment is used to generate economic activity and how this changes over time. However, these activities can be a source of pressure on New Zealand’s marine environment.

Estimates of the marine economy are often used globally as an indicator of the marine environment’s societal and economic importance (Kildow & McIlgorm, 2010; Suris-Regueiro et al, 2013).

This indicator measures the contribution of marine-related industries to New Zealand’s marine economy. Currently measurable activity categories are:

·         offshore minerals
·         shipping
·         fisheries and aquaculture
·         marine services
·         marine tourism and recreation
·         government and defence.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Ocean acidification is the long-term decrease in the pH of our coastal waters and oceans. This indicator measures the change in pH in subantarctic surface waters at a station east of Otago from 1998 to 2017, and also the pH at selected coastal sites via the New Zealand Ocean Acidification Observing Network (NZOA-ON) from 2015 to 2017.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

The South Island Hector’s and Māui dolphins are among the world’s smallest marine dolphins. Both are subspecies of the Hector’s dolphin Cephalorhynchus hectori. These coastal dolphins are endemic to New Zealand, which means that they are not found anywhere else. The Māui dolphin is found in the inshore waters of the west coast of the North Island, most often from Maunganui Bluff, north of Dargaville, to New Plymouth. The South Island Hector’s dolphin (hereafter referred to as ‘Hector’s dolphin’) is mostly found in the inshore waters around the South Island. Both subspecies are threatened with extinction: Hector’s dolphins have a population estimated at 15,000 and are classified as nationally vulnerable, while Māui dolphins have a population estimated at 63 individuals over one year old and are classified as nationally critical (Baker et al, 2019; MacKenzie & Clement, 2016; Baker et al, 2016).

Dolphins can become entangled in fishing gear used by both commercial and recreational fishers, with set nets posing a particularly high risk. The accidental capture of marine life in fishing gear is typically referred to as bycatch. Reporting the causes of death of protected species and specifically identifying the number of animals killed as a result of fishing activities helps us understand the pressures our protected marine species face from fishing.

DOC’s Hector’s and Māui dolphin incident database 1921-2018 provides data on reported deaths of Hector’s and Māui dolphins.

This indicator measures the number of reported Hector’s and Māui dolphin deaths from entanglement, categorised by type of fishing gear where possible, since 1998. The number of entanglements is compared to the total number of reported deaths.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

This dataset measures groundwater quality in New Zealand’s aquifers based on measurements made at monitored sites. Many factors influence the quality of our groundwater. Nitrogen, which occurs naturally in groundwater, can increase in concentrations due to agricultural and urban land use, and infrastructure such as waste treatment plants. High concentrations of nitrate-nitrogen in groundwater can affect human health and the quality of surrounding rivers and lakes that receive inflows from groundwater. Ammoniacal nitrogen can cause an undesirable smell that may make groundwater unsuitable for drinking water. Natural processes in groundwater can convert nitrate-nitrogen into ammoniacal nitrogen or other forms under some chemical conditions. Surplus phosphorus drains (leaches) into groundwater as dissolved reactive phosphorus. Too much nitrate-nitrogen, ammoniacal nitrogen, and phosphorus can lead to excessive plant and algae growth where groundwater flows into surface water. E. coli in groundwater is measured in colony forming units (cfu) and can indicate the presence of pathogens (disease-causing organisms) from animal or human faeces. The pathogens can cause illness for anyone who ingests them.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.