10 million dollars has recently been awarded to a project team made up of scientists from the University of Otago, industry experts, Tangata Tiaki, and an advisory panel of national and international experts, to investigate an alternative model to single-species aquaculture practices commonly used today. The five year project will see the production of an […]
A three year project is currently underway that focuses on extracting value from the invasive seaweed, Undaria pinnatifida, to sustain control programmes across Aotearoa, New Zealand. To address this, the team, led by Chris Hepburn, willl merge fine-scale maps of Undaria biomass and information on key drivers of bioactive concentration (e.g. temperature, light) to build […]
For the first time, the AQFI301 field course was held in Moeraki, hosted at the Uenuku Marae. The course was well attended, with students focusing on pāua, fucoidan work, and macroalgal assemblages. This is one of three AQFI301 courses that are held annually, with the other two courses held in Karitāne, hosted at the Puketeraki […]
Earlier in 2022, Matt Desmond and his wider team were appointed as the science partner on the research project, Iongairo. Iongairo is a collaborative partnership between papatipu rūnanga of Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū, the Department of Conservation and Environment Canterbury. Iongairo is kupu Māori, representing the relationship between Papatūānuku and Tangaroa — the first knowledge of the meeting […]
The 14th annual East Otago Research Evening was held on the 5th of December on the Huriawa Peninsula. The night saw 12 student speakers present their research that was conducted within, and surrounding the East Otago Taiāpure with the wider community.
On the of the 10th of November the 11th annual research evening was held at the Puketeraki Marae. Here students from the University of Otago shared their research that was conducted within, and surrounding the East Otago Taiāpure with the wider community. The night had a great turn out, with students from Anne-Marie Jackson, Chris […]
New regulations (12 December, 2019) now prohibit the commercial and recreational take of pāua within the East Otago Taiāpure. These regulations came into place after 12 years of baseline surveys and monitoring, and have the overall aim of rebuilding fish stocks within the taiāpure. The other new regulations include: prohibit harvesting of attached kelp within […]
In late January 2020, the University of Otago’s research vessel, Polaris II, cruised down to Broad Bay Stewart Island in response to concerns over the presence of Undaria. On arrival, snorkelers swam the perimeter of the bay and located 441 Undaria pinnatifida individuals on an artificial structure. Brown seaweed surveys were conducted at both the […]
University of Otago staff and students, community volunteers, and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu’s Mahinga Kai monitoring team are currently undertaking pāua surveys within the East Otago Taiāpure. This will be the fourth complete survey of pāua in set monitoring sites within the EOT since 2008. The information collected from surveys will provide insight into the […]
As part of her PhD project, Gaby Keeler-May and volunteers from the community successfully cleared just under 12 tonnes of Undaria pinnatifida from 6 sites within the East Otago Taiāpure from November 2019 – January 2020. Sites will be monitored over the next two years for the presence of Undaria, and native seaweed assemblage.
Tātai kōrero ka ngaro, tātai kōrero ka rangona.
Chris Hepburn, Marine Sciences Department, University of Otago
Office: 310 Castle Street, Room 144 | Tel: 64 3 479 7462 | Email: chris.hepburn@otago.ac.nz
