Participatory tools
We are developing web-based tools to enable New Zealanders to interact with and use knowledge generated by the Sustainable Seas Challenge.
Project leader: Ross Vennell, Cawthron Institute
Duration: Apr 2016 – June 2019
Budget: $580,000
Status: Ongoing
We are developing interactive web-based applications that will help inform management and decision-making in the marine environment. These tools will potentially be used by regional councils, government policy-makers, iwi and commercial fisheries.
The first tool we are developing shows how management decisions in the Tasman and Golden Bay region may affect the marine environment and influence the scallop fishery. It will help users understand how their management decisions could impact the productivity and quality of the marine environment. The application uses a ‘Bayesian Network’ to connect environmental management strategies with ecosystem properties.
The second tool allows users to explore how the ocean and coast are connected by ocean flows. It is based on ocean modelling data. Online users will be able to drop virtual plastic into the ocean and discover where it will end up. We have data for the Cook Strait and Tasman-Golden Bays, which show how well areas within the region are connected. For example, plastic from Tasman Bay is predicted to end up on the Kapiti Coast after 15 days, with some passing through Cook Strait and reaching the Wairarapa Coast in 20 days.
These web-based tools are currently undergoing testing and development and are expected to be available online in 2019.
Latest news
Latest news and updates
Interview: Stew Robertson, Abel Tasman Ecotours/Tasman Bay Guardians
Stew Robertson has been a participant in research workshops for projects focused in Tasman-Golden Bay. He is involved with the Nelson Biodiversity Forum and founded the Tasman Bay Guardians in 2017.
Understanding food webs to help manage coastal resources
A study of coastal food webs has revealed how ecosystem-based approaches to marine management could improve management of fish stocks and biodiversity in our changing coastal ocean.
Sharing our latest sedimentation science
In a workshop hosted in Wellington in early May, NIWA and Victoria University of Wellington researchers shared their latest findings on the effects of sediment on both shallow water and deep-sea species with iwi and stakeholders.