Sustainable Seas Challenge

29/08/2024

After a decade of transdisciplinary research into supporting healthy marine ecosystems that provide value for all New Zealanders, the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge has now officially come to an end. While our research has wrapped up, the tools and resources we developed will live on 🐳

Tohorā will guide you through our 10 years of research to help you find what you need, from managing cumulative effects in your local estuary, to developing a sustainable seaweed sector, and everything in between 👉 https://tohora.org.nz/

For more in-depth research, our FigShare repository contains a complete library of all outputs from Sustainable Seas and will remain available indefinitely 👉 https://niwa-nscs.figshare.com/Sustainable_Seas

And as always, our website contains the hundreds of tools and resources produced over the lifetime of the Challenge, along with details of the research projects they came from 👉 https://www.sustainableseaschallenge.co.nz/

We’d like to extend our gratitude to all those who have contributed their time, energy, knowledge, experience and wisdom to the Challenge.

Ka nui te mihi maioha, te mihi aroha ki a koutou – we deeply and sincerely thank you.

27/08/2024

Working in partnership with five marine-based Māori organisations, the Indigenising the blue economy project aimed to address the key barriers preventing Māori from using their marine resources in a more culturally relevant, economically impactful, and environmentally sustainable manner.

The project’s final report provides historical context, highlights constraints and key issues, and provides the solutions identified in the research.

Titiro mai – Check it out now 👀👇

This report provides a synthesis of the research results for the Indigenising the blue economy project, conducted within the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge’s blue economy research programme in partnership with five marine-based Māori organisations between September 2021 and November ...

25/08/2024

Restorative marine tourism – which weaves together restoration efforts and tourism activities – can provide benefits for the health of the moana, strengthen community connectivity to the marine environment, and provides visitors with a more grounded and authentic experience.

Place-based and community-led restorative marine tourism is best positioned to serve our economic, environmental, social, and cultural well-being outcomes now and into the future.

This guide identifies emerging opportunities and provides tools and information for communities to activate and increase restorative marine tourism initiatives.

Take a look for yourself 🔽

Restorative Marine Tourism is a place-based and community-led practice that weaves together restoration efforts and tourism activities. This guide delves into the current state of Restorative Marine Tourism in Aotearoa, and identifies opportunities, strategies, and characteristics of successful appr...

22/08/2024

As we approach our final week, it felt appropriate that our next social media post was all about you 👋

We’d like to extend a thank you to our followers, and to everyone that has liked, commented on and shared our posts – you’ve all played a role in helping get our mahi and messaging seen far and wide. In fact, in the last year – a period where our audience here on Facebook has grown by 28.8% – our posts were seen by a whopping 172,828 people 👏

We’re pretty proud of these numbers, and they wouldn’t have happened without you – thank you for your support!

Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa 💙

📸: Dive! Tutukaka

06/08/2024

Introducing Waimāngaro – Stories of connections to wai 💧

This kete kōrero (collection of stories) shares insights from researchers who played critical roles in our Te Ao Māori synthesis programme.

These stories celebrate how we connect to wai, whether it is something that is explicitly expressed, implicit in the work we do, or a place for drawing identity, inspiration and healing.

🔗 sustainableseaschallenge.co.nz/tools-and-resources/waimāngaro

Want to know more about our Te Ao Māori synthesis work? 🤔 This kōrero with the programme leads explore challenges, successes and some of the key outcomes of the synthesis programme 🎥👉 sustainableseaschallenge.co.nz/tools-and-resources/ngā-aho-kōrero

This kete kōrero (collection of stories) tells of eight stories written by researchers who were part of the Puna Kōrero of the Te Ao Māori Synthesis programme. The binding that ties our chapters together is “stories of connection to wai (water)”. This kaupapa was chosen in collaboration with ...

29/07/2024

An integral part of Sustainable Seas has been the iwi, hapū and Māori-led research reclaiming, restoring and revitalising mātauranga and tikanga Māori, and our connection to the moana.

With interest and appreciation for Indigenous approaches to understanding and connecting to environments growing worldwide, the end of the Challenge is the perfect time to share the insights and experiences of some of our iwi, hapū and Māori researchers.

Our Te Au o Te Moana podcast series hosted is available now – check it out below 👀👇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTl7vuUmkzs&list=PLcP5oYqZClK4NpiaMxKgfuTjMqXUcLYGT

Also available on Spotify 🎧👉 https://open.spotify.com/show/2PJCvU4Oewdk3c8OmWgNPD?si=e72d0ce9d4814f87

Podcast series produced by Astley Nathan.

A significant and important legacy established within the Challenge is the creation of space for iwi, hapū and Māori-led research that reclaims, revitalises ...

09/07/2024

Over the past decade, the Challenge has produced reports, guidance, and tools from more than 100 projects, all contributing towards our vision for a healthy ocean and prosperous blue economy.

We’ve brought together the key lessons and recommendations from this research to highlight nine topics identified as critical to achieving this vision.

We have guidance documents and short summaries available on each topic – check them out here 🔽

Aotearoa New Zealand has a vast marine estate that is increasingly under pressure, and the current legal framework for marine management is complex and fragmented.

25/06/2024

Turning the Tide | Turning the Tide shows what is happening under the surface of the ocean, and how human activities have been driving these changes. We see firsthand the work being done to restore our marine ecosystems across the country, hearing from the hapū, iwi, community leaders, stakeholders, and researchers who are leading the way.

Episode 1 looks at the multiple issues affecting our coastal marine environment through the work of Professors Nick Shears and Conrad Pilditch of Auckland University, including first-hand evidence of kina barrens in the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve.

This series was made by Tauihu Media and funded by the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge.

🔗 https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/turning-the-tide

17/06/2024

We’ve got three webinars lined up for you this week!
TOMORROW 2pm: Hear about our key lessons and recommendations on empowering Māori knowledge and enabling a broad knowledge base for marine management decisions.
Register 👉 https://bit.ly/3Vt3AnX
THURSDAY: At 11am we’ll hear about marine governance — sustaining ocean outcomes for future generations and enabling ecosystem-based management in Aotearoa New Zealand’s marine law and policy.
Register 👉 https://bit.ly/3VHJ7NJ
Later on at 2pm we’ll wrap up our Bringing it all together webinar series with insights into developing pathways to a flourishing blue economy.
Register 👉 https://bit.ly/3VuoKCa

16/06/2024

Turning The Tide is our new six-part documentary series about our marine environment, which is facing enormous pressure from human activities on land and at sea.

This hopeful, solutions-focused series tells the story of the researchers, kaitiaki, and community members across the motu who are pooling their knowledge and resources to support the future health of our moana 🌊

🎬 Available to watch now on RNZ at rnz.co.nz/tide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNUomzpBk2c

NIWA New Zealand University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Canterbury The University of Waikato Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington AgriSea NZ Seaweed Ltd Love Rimurimu Hawke's Bay Regional Council Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Live Ocean LegaSea NZ Sustainable Business Network Forest & Bird WWF New Zealand Aquaculture New Zealand Greenpeace Aotearoa

Find the series @ https://www.rnz.co.nz/tideor on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3lS2qVBadNMLgbbsVg2cXAdDXSAZihnj[G] Episode 1 looks a...