New Zealand has announced it will be launching Ocean Survey 20/20, an ambitious survey, over the next 15 years to build up a comprehensive picture of its oceanic resources and ecosystems, reports Paul Prince.
Minister for Land Information, Pete Hodgson, said New Zealand's future prosperity would depend increasingly on the country's ocean resources, such as its fisheries, aquaculture, natural products, hydrocarbons and other minerals.
"Before we can efficiently and sustainably manage these, we need a fuller understanding of their makeup," he stated.
New Zealand has the world's fourth largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) at 4.8 million square kilometres, 18 times the size of its own land area, and the seabed area is set to increase by around one third on confirmation by the United Nations of New Zealand's jurisdiction to the edge of the continental shelf (expected by 2009).
The new survey will cover the seabed, water column and airspace of New Zealand's EEZ and extend to the edge of the continental shelf, an area of around 6.5 million sqkm.
NZ's Minister for Research, Science and Technology, Steve Maharey, also said many agencies were already involved in a variety of exploration and research activities, but there is still a lot to find out about the country's marine jurisdiction.
"New technology, and the resources being brought together for Ocean Survey 20/20, mean we stand to greatly increase our understanding of our marine interests," he said.
Hodgson also said that Ocean Survey 20/20 is the marine equivalent of the land mapping and survey of New Zealand that began 150 years ago and which today still influences land use decision-making.
"Our goal is to build up an equivalent body of knowledge against which we can make decisions around the sustainable management of our oceans," he added.
Those involved in project 20/20 say the vision is to complete an ocean survey that will provide New Zealand with the knowledge of its open territory, demonstrate its stewardship, exercise its sovereign rights and conserve, protect, manage and sustainably use the country's ocean resources, as well as facilitate safe navigation and the enjoyment of the oceans around New Zealand.
According to Steve Maharey, the vastness and complexity of the ocean area over which New Zealand has jurisdiction is amazing. "We are a maritime people and the sea dominates our climate, life and economy. Our exports and imports are all transported on or over the sea and the bounty of the sea makes a major contribution in fish, shellfish and minerals as diverse as oil and gas and iron.
"But our knowledge of the ocean around us is not as well developed as we would like, [though] that is not to diminish the efforts of many of the people here today and those who have worked to increase our country's ocean knowledge.
"All round the planet we are learning that despite the apparent vastness of the oceans, humans can do seriously detrimental things to them. We need better knowledge to understand and manage human impacts on the world's oceans. Understanding our ocean environment is also a technically difficult challenge."
During the meeting, the minister also made reference to the nearby research vessel, the Tangaroa from the Wellington-based National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
He said that while this may seem like a reasonably significant vessel in the safe confines of Wellington Harbour, any vessel no matter how substantial is dwarfed by the immensity of the southern ocean and southwest Pacific Ocean -- New Zealand's garden ponds.
