The mapping project, known as Iongairo, is the most comprehensive seafloor and habitat map in Canterbury to date. It is designed to improve the understanding of coastal marine ecosystems, which Environment Canterbury chief scientist Fiona Shanhun said is critical for informing resource and planning decisions.
“We can also look at connections between the land and the sea, because obviously what happens on the land does have influence on marine environments,” Shanhun said.
The project began in 2021 when Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand started mapping the Banks Peninsula seafloor.
The project involves ECan, Ōnuku Rūnanga of Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū, Wairewa Rūnanga, the Department of Conservation, and the University of Otago.
Recognising the opportunity, ECan and DOC expanded the survey to cover the shallow coastal areas around Akaroa Harbour and the Southern Bays.
ECan allocated $1.8 million to the project in its 2021-2031 Long Term Plan with DOC contributing $100,000 in addition to providing a vessel.
Land Information New Zealand used multi-beam sonar technology to map the seafloor, sending sound waves to measure depth and reveal underwater terrain.
“That kind of technique really starts to illuminate the characteristics of the sea floor beneath,” Shanhun said.
“It really is the first of its kind.”
She emphasised the importance of collaboration on the project.
“Everybody really brings their own sorts of skills, experience, expertise and it all came together to really make this quite a rich collaborative partnership.
“I’m really proud of the way we’ve worked together, essentially the project has generated new knowledge that is going to benefit both the environment and our communities, now and for future generations.”
Onuku Runanga chair Rik Tainui said Iongairo was the best runanga and Crown agency project he had worked on.
“It was a huge success, not only because of the world-class data it produced, but because of the way we worked together as a collective,” he said.
The mapping project was launched in Akaroa at the end of March and was attended by more than 70 people.
Shanhun described it as “hugely successful”.
“It was really fantastic actually to see the interest and enthusiasm from people in the room.”
