Eco Pirates

01/11/2025

The Rae Lee is now in Picton ! She sailed from Nelson and is now moored in Picton. There she will do some exploring of the Sounds before coming to Christchurch over New Years.

We have a new tender for the local play toy fleet. Our members will enjoy some hooning alongside Delight and the sailing dingy!

The Aquabot frame is built, the control parts ordered !

20/10/2025

From Soil to Sea: Learning with Roz — Gardens, Plankton, and the Battle for the Deep.

A deep dive into Christchurch permaculturalist Roz Rolls, permaculture educator and chairperson of kiaTAERIA. Eco Pirates Matt & Dave attended an inspiring and motivational talk: "Defending the Deep." hosted by Christchurch Envirohub. Roz spoke of connecting soil, sea, and sustainability. This feature explores phytoplankton, the Cook Islands seabed mining debate, the International Seabed Authority, and the myth of “green” mining.

Roz is a hero. Advocate. Passionate champion for the community. He wahine maori ia, tona whakapapa mai i te moananui a kiwa hoki,

In this Write Up

Growing Resilience in the Heart of Christchurch
The Invisible Forest Beneath the Waves
The Cook Islands and the Seabed Question
The International Seabed Authority (ISA)
The Controversy Around the ISA
The “Green Mining” Myth
How Seabed Mining and Exploration Work
Moana Minerals: Corporate History and Legal Concerns
Why It Matters for the Cook Islands — and for Us
Closing Thoughts — From Gardens to Global Commons

A deep dive into Christchurch permaculturalist Roz Rolls, permaculture educator and chairperson of kiaTAERIA. Eco Pirates Matt & Dave attended an inspiring and motivational talk: "Defending the Deep." hosted by Christchurch Envirohub. Roz spoke of connecting soil, sea, and sustainability. This featu...

20/10/2025

Key message shared by the Coral Reef Alliance

The Global Tipping Points Report 2025 warns that coral reefs have crossed a dangerous threshold — but it also shows a path forward.
Around the world, positive tipping points are already taking root: communities restoring their reefs, advancing clean water, and transforming policies and practices that drive large-scale change.

At CORAL, we’re transforming fear into hope by tackling local stressors and strengthening communities to protect reefs that sustain millions. Science shows that when large, diverse, and connected reefs are protected, corals can adapt and even evolve…revealing nature’s own blueprint for resilience 🪸

Every clean-water project, every community-managed marine area, every partnership matters. Together, we can trigger a chain of action that tips our planet toward resilience.

Read the full report: https://hubs.la/Q03NLJ750

📷: Marla Tomorug, Sofaia Gribben, Kellon Spencer, BBC Storyworks

https://global-tipping-points.org/

https://www.eco-pirates.com/post/global-tipping-points-repor

Harmful tipping points in the natural world threaten humanity by disrupting life support systems and societal stability.

12/10/2025

Hooray today the plastic machine was munching, the underwater robot making crew convened to take the next steps, Pirates Cove site got fresh stones and paint in prep for our ongoing pirate market fundraisers, the car got fixed and loaded with gear ready to sort Rae Lee for delivery to chch this week !!!

Meanwhile in Sunny Samoa the boat engine carry is being reconditioned ready for reef dingy action!

04/10/2025

Check out of brief October update !

Eco Pirates Update : October 5 2025The Rae LeeShe is now berthed at Nelson Marina. Next week we are on mission to install liferaft, epirb, flares, running rigging, repaired sails and do the oil and filters, then weather permitting she will sail to Lyttleton arriving by the 15th ready for a summer of...

04/10/2025

While coming up with the Eco Pirate plans, I learned that it would be really important to be able to show people what is going on beneath the surface. Show people, they will see, learn, love and protect what is down there.

I day dreamed about how we would be able to do fish surveys, show people the reef, before and after we plant it, show them what it all looks like.

I investigated underwater drones.....expensive, What I have learned about drones is that they dissapear. You buy another and then if the birds dont attack it, it gets taken away by the wind or dunks into the sea ! I just imagined buying a $5000 submersible only to have it swept away in a current, eaten by a whale or its cable wrapped around some rock.

Last week a family signed up to the Eco-Pirates. Keen for local action. In discussion with them, it turned out that the daughter, at school had been involved (awesomely and won comps) with making underwater remote controlled robots !

We now have a project lead, she is ready and set to recruit a team of robot makers, to gather the resources to build the first set of robots ! We will text them launching from various boats here in the bays and then plan an excursion where the whanau and project team will head to the reef for a week in 2026 to deploy these machines and get us some epic underwater footage. While in Samoa they will recruit and train some locals who will carry on the project, surveying and recording under the sea !

Turns out kids make them at school and it is super easy! KIDS these days! SO AMAZING. Check it out https://ministryofinspiration.org/nz-aquabots-underwater-robotics/

WE ARE TOTALLY going to catch a mermaid on camera.

Follow the group to keep in the loop.

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BYJ7kzZCC/

AQUABOTS ARE GO

https://www.eco-pirates.com/post/we-found-a-robot-person

While coming up with the Eco Pirate plans, I learned that it would be really important to be able to show people what is going on beneath the surface. Show people, they will see, learn, love and protect what is down there. I day dreamed about how we would be able to do fish surveys, show people the....

22/09/2025

Shout out to everyone that joined us on Friday for Pirates Karaoke and Psy Trance ! Thanks for all the new joins, look forward to adventures with you all through the summer !