Seafood industry conference

Three of our researchers presented at the conference’s Technical Day (2 August).

The day was attended by around 80 representatives from industry, government agencies, researchers, and experts.

The Sustainable Seas speakers and topics were:

• Julie Hall – The Sustainable Seas Challenge: what's in it for industry
  Our research is focused on developing practical knowledge and tools to support ecosystem-based management (EBM) – developed with input from stakeholders to ensure they are fit-for-purpose. These tools will help marine resource managers, industry, Māori and communities to better assess the effects that developing an opportunity will have on other marine activities, the ecosystem, and the values that New Zealanders’ hold for marine environments. These tools will also help industry to plan, futureproof and gain social licence, as well as predict the likely effect that environmental factors such as sedimentation, nutrient run off and ocean acidification may have on marine ecosystems.
  
  
• David Scheil – Resilience and tipping points in coastal ecosystems
  Tipping points can severely affect resource-dependent industries such as fishing and aquaculture. We are doing New Zealand’s first national marine experiment in estuaries, harbours and rocky reefs, to understand how tipping points manifest in New Zealand waters, including risks and how ecosystems – including commercial species – respond to change. 
  
  
• Michelle Masi – Modelling from sunlight to market, and everything in between
  Atlantis ecosystem models are extremely detailed – including everything from sunlight and nutrients through to top predators and fisheries. We are refining and validating our model for Tasman and Golden Bays; then will work with stakeholders, including industry, to develop appropriate scenarios to investigate the ecosystem effects of different management or environmental scenarios. Michelle previously worked on the Gulf of Mexico model, specialising in exploring fisheries scenarios.