Discovering Tasman Sea Secrets

Media release from Sealord Group Ltd

Discovering Tasman Sea Secrets - New data reveals 10 times more life than previously estimated

The most detailed survey of the biodiversity in the Tasman Sea to date has been made possible thanks to cooperation between research organisations and industry on both sides of the Tasman.

Sealord owned and part-owned vessels Rehua, Janas and Antarctic Chieftain have been part of vital fact finding about the state of the Tasman. Using state-of-the-art electronics these vessels have helped map the amount of fish and other marine life as they travelled between New Zealand and Australia.

According to Sealord’s in-house scientist, Graham Patchell, this work is significant because previous estimates about the biomass (mass of living organisms) in this part of the ocean could be way off base.

“Models estimate about 10 million tonnes of living creatures. The data shows it could be ten times or more than this – 100 million tonnes,” says Graham.

The research will also help to monitor the effects of global warming on some of the most important and least understood ecosystems.

“100 million tonnes of little midwater fish are swimming up towards the surface at night to feed. We need to understand what will happen to these fish over time, how important they are in taking CO² out of the atmosphere, and what is the real complexity in the food web out there,” says Graham.

The company’s vessels have been working to gather scientific data since 2004 and have partnered with the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) on the IMOS (integrated marine observing system) project to replace guesswork about the amount of life in the Tasman Sea, with hard data.

For Sealord, contributing to this and other research work is a way to ensure fishing sustainability and provide vital information about our oceans.

“We need to think ahead and understand how bigger changes will impact the oceans. A few years ago recruitment (young fish reaching adulthood) in the Hoki fishery was badly damaged because of warm water in the Tasman Sea, but this wasn’t recognised until later. By better understanding potential impacts, industry can plan ahead to protect New Zealand’s resources,” says Graham. Ends

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