Monitoring
In July 2006 a survey team consisting of nine divers covered 18 locations, 10 in the Ulva Island / Te Wharawhara Marine Reserve and eight outside.
These locations are now permanent monitoring sites as they will provide valuable information into the health of the reserve.
This survey was the first monitoring and information gathering exercise to be carried out since the 1075 hectare marine reserve was established in 2004.
Marine divers monitoring at Ulva Island
Its aim, to collect base-line data, is vital to the monitoring of marine protected areas by providing the benchmark for which future information can be compared.
By monitoring the marine reserve environment and the species that inhabit it the Department of Conservation is able to tell if the reserve is protecting and restoring living things within it.
Information gathered following the initial survey will now provide the department with a check that its management of the marine reserve is effective and if the reserve is in a healthy state.
These data are then added to the knowledge basket of information available on how best to protect the country’s marine resources.
There was a lot of information collected when the Ulva Island / Te Wharawhara Marine Reserve proposal was investigated in the late 1990s by DOC and Otago University researchers. The 2006 survey sites were lined up from this exsisting data.
Now that the base-line data had been collected, a future monitoring plan to re-visit sites and make comparisons to asses the effectiveness of the reserve is being established.
Monitoring involves the systematic collection of data over time and analysis and interpretation of that data.
The results of this analysis allow decision makers to be informed about the consequences of marine reserve management, visitor use and changes that may be occurring in the environment.
This assists in making informed decisions on future actions, including the review of the operational plan.
The Ulva Island / Te Wharawhara Marine Reserve protects all marine life within its boundaries and in doing so, extends the protection of Rakiura’s largely pristine environment from land to sea.
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