Reefs offshore from Pātea feature in Whanganui talk on undersea life

Leatherjackets and butterfly perch swim around a shellrock reef offshore from Patea. Photo / file

When South Taranaki people joined together in a citizen science project they discovered some amazing life forms on one of their offshore reefs.

Their three-year project is the subject of May's Nature Talk, at 7.30pm in Whanganui's Davis Lecture Theatre on May 15. The talk is free, though a koha is appreciated.

The speakers will be Karen Pratt and Joshua Richardson and the title What makes the sub-tidal reefs off South Taranaki unique? They will have pictures and video to illustrate the surprising and colourful plants and animals they found deep under water.

The focus of their study is a single reef 11km offshore from Pātea, and the study won the marine category in the 2017 Green Ribbon Awards. It also featured in hearings about proposed seabed mining in the vicinity, when Pratt made a detailed presentation about reef life and its vulnerability.

Read More
Anger at seabed mining drives this protester
Groups join to fight South Taranaki seabed mining

The project used science and technology to look beneath the waves. It involved two South Taranaki iwi, two high schools and an underwater club. It was funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Nature Talks are a combined effort by Whanganui conservation, birding and botanical groups. This one is from Birds New Zealand (Whanganui Branch).

"This talk comes as a timely reminder that our seas and seabeds contain other resources than just mineral ones," region representative Peter Frost said.