Protection for Kapiti Under the Waves

Forest and Bird, Issue 308, 1 May 2003, Page 14

Protection for Kapiti Under the Waves

Origin Natural History Media,

Wellington.

—DAVE HANSFORD,

apiti Island Nature Reserve also has K its own marine reserve protecting parts of its adjacent waters. While the scene of controversy before its establishment in 1992, the reserve is now popularly acknowledged as a success. The eastern section is an 1825-hectare wedge tapering east from Kapiti to a narrow stretch of mainland coast at the Waikanae Estuary. There is also a 342-hectare outrider on the opposite, northwestern side of the island. Both are washed by the warm D’Urville current on its way north through the Taranaki Bight and the cold but nutritious Canterbury current from Cook Strait. This mix of cold and warm temperate waters supports a mosaic of four distinct seabed habitats, believed to be unique on the North Island west coast. The eastern reserve is typified by a silt, sand and gravel bottom, and is home to shellfish and worms, and the gurnard and goatfish that hunt them. Further west, narrow boulder rock reefs and their seaweed mantle support rays, blue cod and spotties. On the Tasman side of the island, extensive reefs of large boulders stretch like fingers through clear waters. Here live luxuriant carpets of seaweeds and sponges, anemones, butterfish, butterfly perch and moki. Northern and southern species rub shoulders amid spectacular underwater scenery. Over the summer of 1999-2000, divers from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research jumped into the marine reserve to take its pulse in a fiveyearly programme of health checks. They

found between 10 and 20 times more legalsized blue cod and four times as many large butterfish in the reserve compared to nearby sites outside the reserve. Crayfish numbers had doubled since 1992, and reserve sites had up to four times as many crayfish as those beyond. The team reported that the behaviour of fish and crayfish had changed. Fish were much less shy, and some large crayfish even left their holes to take a closer look at the divers. Since fishers were shut out, the abundance and size of blue cod and butterfish had increased despite the presence of a seal colony at the Hole in the Wall, according to Bruce Dix, a coastal marine officer with the Department of Conservation. He says, ‘very clearly humans have more impact upon fisheries than seals. The reserve came about 10 years ago, when many Kapiti people were worried about what was happening under the waves. There was the usual agonised gestation — endless rounds of consultation, drawing and redrawing of boundaries, columns of letters to the editor from ‘Angry of Waikanae’. But finding a naysayer nowadays is difficult. Everyone seems to think the reserve is a good idea — including, unfortunately, the poachers. Jan Cooksley, DoC’s manager for Kapiti, says that as life returns to the reserve, it’s acting as a magnet for thieves, ‘and it’s not just plain old poaching for the table, he says. As Wellington’s south coast is stripped by organised poaching gangs, they’ve turned their attention to Kapiti. Anti-poaching patrols are taking up an increasing share of the department’s time and budget, says Ian Cooksley. Surveillance was doubled this summer, because ‘the {Marine Reserve] committee was keen for a greater presence on the water. They wanted people to see the DoC boat out there, so we've divided our time between that and more covert patrolling with the Ministry of Fisheries.’ Ian Cooksley wants everyone to know he’s serious about protecting this undersea oasis. He gets plenty of help nowadays from local fishers, iwi and boaties. Having fought so hard to get this reserve, they’re not about to let anyone steal the life out of it now.