News & Events

MEDIA RELEASE

January 13, 2017

New Zealanders are worried about the future of our beaches, with storm surges, degradation of sand dunes, coastline development, sand mining and climate change putting their survival at risk, a new national survey has found.

The Coastal Restoration Trust’s survey of 1775 people, conducted by Horizon Research, found that almost two-thirds of Kiwis believed beach erosion was worse than it was 20 years ago, and most were worried that some New Zealand beaches might vanish forever.

Trust spokesman Tim Park said that, in many cases, New Zealand’s beaches were paying the price for overwhelming public popularity.

“We’re loving our beaches to death. We’re driving on them, building sea walls that change beach dynamics and sand movement, developing beachfront property virtually right on top on them.

“We’re shaping and managing our beaches to fit what people want and expect from them, rather than understanding and working with natural processes that are best for healthy, resilient beaches.

“If we can work with nature, rather than against it, everyone benefits. It’s vitally important, because some beaches are already under enormous pressure and are at risk of disappearing.

“Once a beach is gone, it’s gone for good.”

Mr Park said while many people saw erosion as a big issue for New Zealand’s coasts, research showed beaches could recover if coastal ecosystems – particularly sandy foredunes – were in a healthy, functioning state.

“In many situations we can manage issues more sustainably through ‘soft’ options that give beaches the space they need to breathe. Sand dunes are a perfect example. Not only are they a buffer against storm surges and even the potential of tsunamis, dunes play a vital role in the natural transit and accretion of sand, which is what helps keep a beach ecosystem healthy.

“We tend to overlook just how important sand is and why we need to look after it.”

Giving beaches more breathing space also meant taking a new look at how property development on our coastlines was managed.

“It’s natural for us to want to live as close to the beach as possible, but in many places we’ve simply gotten too close,” said Mr Park.

“Rather than trying to fight what’s a losing battle by building sea walls, or dumping loads of boulders, ‘setback’ (planning development further back from beaches to prevent the loss of dunes/houses completely in large storm events) is best. It’s also far more cost-effective to look after sand and restore dunes by planting native sand-binding vegetation, for example, at a fraction of the cost of seawalls, which don’t last long-term and often just shift problems somewhere else.”

The trust’s holistic approach to coastal management had led it to change its name from the Coastal Restoration Trust to the Coastal Restoration Trust, said Mr Park.

“It’s recognising that our coasts are part of an inter-connected system. It’s not one thing or another but a whole range of factors that shape our coastlines, and the survey shows more Kiwis are getting that.”

LIFE’S A BEACH: KEY SURVEY FINDINGS

• New Zealanders plan to go to the beach for an average of 13.6 days this summer
• 50% say they have seen the effects of erosion at beaches in New Zealand; more than 60% say beaches are more eroded now than 20 years ago
• 77% are concerned about the effect erosion may have on the future quality of New Zealand beaches; 28% are very concerned
• Respondents rated “storm surges” as the major cause of beach erosion, followed by “degradation of sand dunes”, “development on coastlines”, “commercial sand mining” and “global warming/climate change”

The Horizon Research surveyed 1775 respondents nationally aged over 18. The sample has a margin of error of 2.3%. Breakdowns of the results by geographical and socio-economic indicators are available on request.

For more information, contact: Tim Park, Coastal Restoration Trust, 021 247 9739.

We are excited to invite you to our Christchurch conference, Diverse Coastal Environments in a Time of Change, which is now open for registration.

There is a lot of coast to explore around Christchurch and for that reason there are two fieldtrips in addition to the usual three day conference. Check out the detail here and make it a real holiday!

CoastCare Northland was set up to help protect and restore Northland’s coastal sand dunes by supporting community groups to undertake dune restoration activities including planting, fencing, weed and pest control and education.

From small beginnings just over ten years ago, the programme now boasts 31 groups Northland-wide with more than 200 active members working on dune restoration projects at their local beach. In the 2015/16 year, 1152 volunteers participated in the CoastCare programme.

Over the past decade, these dedicated members have spearheaded dune restoration planting and other work at 43 Northland coastal sites. Since 2016, 115,000 dune plants provided through the Environment Fund have been put in the ground over 10 planting seasons: 79,000 spinifex; 24,000 pingao; and 12,000 backdune plants, including Muehlenbeckia, flax, knobby clubrush and kanuka.

Read the full newsletter here.

Silent earthquakes, also known as slow-slip events, can move fault lines the equivalent of a magnitude 6+ earthquake over a period of weeks and months, without any shaking. They can follow large quakes, as they have after the recent 7.8 magnitude earthquake in the South Island, but often occur separately from them.

Read the full article here.

Ecology, breeding biology and conservation status of the South Georgian Diving Petrels (Pelecanoides georgicus) on Codfish Island (Whenua Hou), New Zealand

 Johannes H. Fischer, School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington

 The South Georgian Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides georgicus;SGDP hereafter) is a burrow-breeding Procellariiformes with a circumpolar distribution across the southern oceans and is currently considered “Least Concern” by the IUCN. In New Zealand, however, the SGDP has declined steeply due to a combination of predation by introduced species and habitat destruction. Subsequently the species became extinct on the South Island, Stewart Island, Auckland Islands and Chatham Islands. The only remaining New Zealand breeding population persists in the dunes of the Sealers Bay, Codfish Island (Whenua Hou), with a population size of 150 adults at most. Therefore, the species is considered “Threatened - Nationally Critical” by the New Zealand Threat Classification System. As this highly-threatened population is the only New Zealand Procellariiformes that specializes in breeding in coastal dunes, the Coastal Restoration Trust of New Zealand supported my research project aimed at better understanding the threats and population trends of the SGDP on Codfish Island. The proposed aims of this study were:

• Continued assessment of nest site characteristics critical to the SGDP on Codfish Island
• Assessment of population dynamics and trends of the SGDP on Codfish Island
• Assessment of the breeding biology of the SGDP on Codfish Island

Analysis of explanatory variables that potentially affect nest site selection in SGDPs on Codfish Island using a theoretic information criterion (AIC_C) showed that their nesting habitat are mobile, steep, north-eastern (seaward) facing dunes no further than 20 m from the sea. In addition, the interactions between the distance to the sea and physical aspects of the dunes, as well as the interaction between plant cover and the physical aspects of the dunes proved important. Surprisingly nest site selection by SGDPs is not dictated by the presence of invasive plant species (as opposed to the indications given by preliminary results), nor by the presence of conspecifics, Common Diving Petrels (P. urinatrix; CDP), or Sooty Shearwaters (Puffinus griseus). However, four burrows showing changes in occupancy suggest that CDPs may directly compete for burrow sites with SGDPs. More importantly, the preferred nesting habitat thus renders this Nationally Critical species extremely vulnerable to effects from stochastic events (e.g., storms and storm surges) during the breeding season. These results have been written up as a formal publication.

During the 2015/2016 breeding season, 60 SGDPs were banded and these individually recognizable birds presented a unique opportunity to assess population dynamics of this species. Therefore, continued banding and recapture efforts have become a priority during the 2016/2017 breeding season. During the first field trip of the 2016/2017 breeding season (late September to early October 2016), an additional 47 SGDPs were banded. Furthermore, 31 SGDPs were recaptured (21 from 2015/2016 breeding season, 3 from 2008/2009, 4 from 2004/2005 and 1 from 2003/2004). This data will form a solid foundation for a detailed study aimed at understanding the population dynamics and trends in the SGDP. Banding and recapture efforts will continue in upcoming field trips and breeding seasons to further compile the data.

The third aim, the assessment of the breeding biology of the SGDP on Codfish Island, is crucial to enable the continued existence of this species. Unfortunately, it was not possible to deploy the required study equipment (study burrows) during the first field trip due to logistical and bureaucratic constraints. Preliminary data on the breeding biology were collected during the first field trip (by assessing body condition of birds in the hand) and these data suggest prospecting to start in September, while incubation appears to start in the first week of October. Future attempts to place study burrows are currently being considered, as well as a study trial to assess the effects of study burrows on brood-chamber conditions (e.g., temperature and humidity).

In conclusion, the smooth progress of the analysis of the nest site selection of the SGDP on Codfish Island will enable more fine-tuned conservation strategies in the future. The first SGDP field trip of the 2016/2017 breeding season was a remarkable success in terms of capture-mark-recapture efforts. In addition, future field trips may enable the study of the breeding biology of this Nationally Critical species. I am thus very grateful for the support received from the Coastal Restoration Trust of New Zealand to further our understanding of a species in such desperate need of conservation management.