The University of Auckland’s Marine Research Laboratory has taken delivery of a new purpose-built vessel that’s bigger and better equipped than the old one. Story by Alex Stone.
Back in the day when Goat Island was the first and only marine reserve in New Zealand (and the world), two scientists from the University of Auckland could be seen bobbing about in a tiny plywood rowboat collecting plankton in a bucket.
They then graduated to a tinnie of the unremarkable kind. The marine biologists studying at the university’s Marine Research Lab at Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve (the official name for Goat Island) have since progressed through a fleet of research vessels – all a tad too small and under-equipped. But they made do. Until now.
Enter Te Kaihōpara (‘The Explorer’), a multi-million-dollar aluminium vessel of the very remarkable kind. The super-capable and eminently seaworthy 15.9m power catamaran was built in Whanganui by Q-West Boat Builders Ltd. Te Kaihōpara is all set to do our scientists at Leigh Marine Laboratory proud.
Their work is very important and Te Kaihōpara will become a pivotal part of the campaign to restore collapsing biodiversity in the Hauraki Gulf.
The University’s marine research at the Goat Island laboratory spans a wide range of subjects, including climate change, conservation and restoration, whales and dolphins, microplastics, noise pollution, seabirds, seafloor ecology, aquaculture, kelp and kina. Even the economic benefits of marine reserves – as the work of Zoë Qu and others have shown, those benefits from snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) alone from this tiny marine reserve amount to more than $10 million annually – Marine Policy, December 2021: Economic valuation of the snapper recruitment effect from a well-established temperate no-take marine reserve on adjacent fisheries. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308597X21004036
Te Kaihōpara will support projects such as researching:
• The resilience of kelp and the effectiveness of large-scale kina removals for restoring kelp forests
• How boat noise stresses snapper and whales, and more widely the role of underwater sound in the Gulf
• Effects of climate change, such as invasive sea urchins, and new methods for checking the health of the marine environment at scale
• Feeding groups of whales, dolphins, seabirds and rays
• Habitat use and interactions of large marine animals
• Potential for carbon storage in coastal ecosystems
The work schedule of Te Kaihōpara, and the planning of it, will ultimately be the responsibility of Professor Simon Thrush, director of the University’s Institute of Marine Science. The skipper of Te Kaihōpara is Brady Doak, son of legendary Kiwi underwater explorer Wade Doak.
With the ability to accommodate eight people aboard for offshore passages of up to 25 days, Te Kaihōpara is built to be able to explore far beyond the confines of the Hauraki Gulf – from Three Kings Islands in the north to as far south as Kaikoura and Greymouth. But mostly, the boat will be working locally and will become a familiar sight for Hibiscus Coast boaties. Please pay attention to the ‘Divers Down’ flag which no doubt will be flying frequently.
Te Kaihōpara replaces the previous 15m RV Hawere research vessel, which was able to support six people for up to a week at sea; and will complement the inshore work of the lab’s fleet of smaller (less than 6m) outboard-powered boats.
Working out of Goat Island, Te Kaihōpara will help highlight the need for more marine reserves in the Hauraki Gulf, such as one planned for Waiheke Island.
Te Kaihōpara
Specifications
loa 15.9m
beam 5.6m
draft 1.5m
passengers 8 live aboard, 25 day trip
cruise speed 18-20 knots
fuel capacity 2500 Litres
survey MNZ, Part 40C and Part 40A
engines 2 x Cummins QSB 6.7 Marine Diesel
propulsion Shaft-drive, fixed-pitch propellers
construction Marine-grade aluminium
designer Teknicraft Design
launched January 2022
the name Local iwi Ngāti Manuhiri, partners in mussel reef restoration, gifted the name Te Kaihōpara.
