Breadcrumbs

Ministers visit Coastal Marine Field Station

26 April 2023

Group photo
University of Waikato staff showed Minister Grant Robertson and Minister Jan Tinetti around the Coastal Marine Field Station as part of a visit.

The University of Waikato’s Coastal Marine Field Station was on show when Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Education Minister Jan Tinetti visited last week.

Since being established in 2011, the Coastal Marine Field Station in Tauranga has become a major multidisciplinary research and education centre, involved in a range of exciting initiatives. These include working in collaboration with Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) and government agencies to monitor human impacts on harbours, coast, and offshore islands, and to identify mitigating solutions that will be robust even as our climate becomes more volatile.

The research also investigates disturbances such as fishing, sedimentation, coastal development, climate change, and pollution. As part of the University’s Environmental Research Institute, the Marine Station conducts environmental research from the Antarctic to the tropics, focussing on Aotearoa’s connected coastal, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems.

Group photo
Professor Chris Battershill (right), with Minister Grant Robertson and Minister Jan Tinetti at the University's Coastal Marine Field Station.

During the visit, Professor Chris Battershill shared with the Ministers some examples of the centre’s work in training experts in environmental marine science and aquaculture. This work is intended to help meet the demands of a growing and sustainable blue economy in the region.

“With a changing climate, marine aquaculture will become increasingly important for not only our economy, but our survival. Aquaculture is one of the most important production sectors for the future, including the generation of food, fuel, and fine chemicals,” Professor Battershill says.

“The list of important research projects that we are involved in is huge, uniquely combining environmental research with our need to create wealth from the sea. Everything from continuing the monitoring of reef recovery from the MV Rena and Cyclone Gabrielle disasters to identifying how we can assess the health of coastal systems by listening to them invoking acoustics and eDNA technologies,” Professor Battershill says. “For example, the team played a significant role in understanding the impacts of the grounding of the CV Rena on Astrolabe Reef in October 2011, providing day-by-day assessments to iwi and the wider community.”

Group photo
Professor Marie Magnusson (right) shows Minister Tinetti and Minister Robertson around the University's algal research aquaculture facility in Tauranga.

The University of Waikato is recognised as one of the premier universities in New Zealand for multidisciplinary aquatic science, and has attracted some of the world’s experts in a wide range of marine and marine related fields. International partnerships with Germany, the USA, and Australia are growing. It is also the only university in the southern hemisphere to have a working tertiary partnership with Wānanga and the Technical Institutes that is dedicated to enhancing tertiary education offerings in the Bay of Plenty, and offering stepping stones into education for regional communities.


Latest stories

Related stories

Raukokore Marine Research

Waikato supports Raukōkore Marine Research Centre opening

The Raukōkore Marine Research Centre has officially opened, providing a crucial research base for the…

Professor Chris Battershill

Renowned scientist honoured for dedication to marine conservation

World-renowned marine scientist Professor Chris Battershill has been honoured for his significant contributions to marine…

Medical School Announcement

University of Waikato welcomes third medical school announcement

The University of Waikato welcomes the announcement by the National Party that if the Party…

Images of Dr Joel Rindelaub and Dr Benjamin Dickson from the University of Waikato

Curing cancer, clearing the air and changing the world: two senior chemistry lecturers move to Waikato

The University of Waikato has appointed two new senior chemistry lecturers to Te Aka Mātuatua…

Assistant Vice-Chancellor Sustainability Professor Lynda Johnston

Waikato ranks in top 100 of universities globally

The University of Waikato has been recognised in the top 100 of educational institutions worldwide…

Graduates from the University of Waikato line up for their ceremony

Triumph in Tauranga: University of Waikato celebrates graduation

Just over 250 people graduated from the University of Waikato’s Tauranga campus on Friday, marking…

Learning on the move

Students from across the Bay of Plenty attended sessions of jumping, sprinting, balancing, and analysing…

Nathan Bailey, inaugural recipient of the Tauranga Moana Futures Scholarship

Scholarship enables inaugural recipient to contribute to the redevelopment of Tauranga City

University of Waikato first-year Bachelor of Engineering student Nathan Bailey is the inaugural recipient of…

Waikato alumnus awarded prestigious University Medal.

The University of Waikato has awarded its prestigious University of Waikato Medal to alumnus Rob…

An ocean of possibilities in marine research at University of Waikato

Researchers at the University of Waikato are turning to the ocean to clean up our…

Jasmine Campbell

Exchange students fly high in Denmark and Singapore

While most of us were on summer holiday, a group of third-year University of Waikato…

Algae to economics: academic promotions announced

The University of Waikato has announced its latest round of academic promotions.