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The Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge brings together a group of experts who are working on creating a new way of managing our marine ecosystems called ecosystem-based management (EBM).
EBM takes into account all the uses and impacts on all parts of a marine ecosystem.
Our marine areas are not only important for plants and animals, but also for our economy, industries and people. Marine industries include:
The New Zealand Government looks after our marine areas. Our marine areas include:
These areas are looked after by the New Zealand Government and laws are made to decide who can use marine resources. This can be hard because different people want to use marine areas in different ways.
Ecosystem-based management takes into account how different people and organisations use and value marine areas. EBM will manage impacts on entire ecosystems rather than just individual species.
Old ways of managing our seas are now in need of a rethink. We can no longer look at just some species or focus on one issue at a time. We need to look at:
The Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge brings together a group of different experts from scientists to lawyers to mātauranga Māori holders. The aim of this project is to not only improve the value of our marine resources but also to make sure that these resources do not run out, and that Aotearoa New Zealand’s marine ecosystems are thriving.
A new way of managing our marine areas will be created, called ecosystem-based management (EBM). To achieve this, the Sustainable Seas Challenge researchers are:
EBM for Aotearoa is based on the 7 principles:
EBM is a work in progress. The Sustainable Seas Challenge is trialling EBM in the Tasman-Golden Bay and Hawke’s Bay areas because they have:
Find out more about the Sustainable Seas Challenge.
Complete the Ecosystem-Based Management quiz
> Discover more about marine ecosystems in Aotearoa