This Flagship supports the sustainable use of New Zealand’s oceans.
Our science focuses on natural resource management, restoration of degraded habitats, and protecting marine ecosystems by identifying environmental use thresholds. We aim to provide robust data, frameworks, and new technologies that offer clear evidence and predictions of the efficacy of management actions.
This research is critical for New Zealand given the New Zealand Government’s initiation of the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area and because New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone is one of the largest in the world. Our marine economy is worth over $7 billion, yet we lack vital scientific information for the sustainable management of our oceans including use of marine and seabed resources, particularly under a changing climate.
This Flagship will produce robust data and frameworks for characterising the state of our oceans, supported by new technologies and tools to cost-effectively provide this vital information over large areas. This includes satellite-based systems for characterising ocean processes. We focus on parameters and measurement systems that can provide clear evidence of environmental state and the efficacy of management approaches.
