Recreational shellfish gathering on Banks Peninsula
New algal production system comes online at Bream Bay
How temperature affects kingfish larval quality
Deepsea corals and fisheries
Age validation of deepsea fish
The layflat bags at Bream Bay. (Photo: Ian Cameron, NIWA)
A recently installed continuous algal production system utilising state-of-the-art technology is now supplying microalgae to one of NIWA’s onsite clients at Bream Bay, Sealord Shellfish Ltd.
The unit, which is called a layflat bag system, consists of 20 x 1500 litre polyethelene bags into which nutrients and pasteurised seawater are constantly injected.
The UNEP/WCMC report.
The threat to deepsea corals from bottom trawling is a hot environmental topic. A major report by a NIWA-led international team brings the latest scientific knowledge to the debate.
Deepsea fishing tends to be concentrated around seamounts (undersea volcanoes), because seamounts are often rich in commercial species like orange roughy. Cold-water coral species also make seamounts their home, but these corals are very vulnerable to damage by bottom trawlers. Coral habitats form a vital part of deepwater ecosystems.
An orange roughy otolith
NIWA scientists have recently completed a study funded by MFish to validate the theory that two species of deepsea fish, orange roughy and black cardinalfish, live to extreme ages – something that has been assumed for over two decades, but not investigated in detail until now.
Conventional techniques for ageing fish include counting growth zones on otoliths ’ bony structures found inside the fish’s ear.
A kingfish larva, approximately 5 mm long. (Photo: Damian Moran, NIWA)
Although commercial-scale production of kingfish fingerlings is now a reality, researchers at NIWA’s Bream Bay Aquaculture Park continue to investigate how production techniques can be improved to benefit the industry.
Shellfish gatherers, Akaroa Harbour. (Photo: Chris Woods, NIWA)
At least one in four New Zealanders engages in some form of marine recreational fishing, including gathering shellfish from the intertidal zone.
