‘Mauka makai’ ‘Ki uta ki tai’: The ecological and socio-cultural values of estuarine shellfisheries in Hawai`i and Aotearoa New Zealand.
Estuaries rank among the most anthropogenically impacted aquatic ecosystems on earth. There is a growing consensus on anthropogenic impacts to estuarine and coastal environments, and consequently the ecological, social, and cultural values. The protection of these values is legislated for within the...
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| Format: | Other/Unknown Material |
| Language: | English |
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University of Canterbury
2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10092/14647 https://doi.org/10.26021/5737 |
| Summary: | Estuaries rank among the most anthropogenically impacted aquatic ecosystems on earth. There is a growing consensus on anthropogenic impacts to estuarine and coastal environments, and consequently the ecological, social, and cultural values. The protection of these values is legislated for within the U.S. and Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). The respective environmental catchment philosophy ‘Mauka Makai’ and ‘Ki Uta Ki Tai’ (lit. inland to sea) of Indigenous Hawaiian and Ngāi Tahu forms the overarching principle of this study. The scientific component of this study measured shellfish population indices, condition index, tissue and sediment contamination which was compared across the landscape development index, physico-chemical gradient and management regimes. Within the socio-cultural component of this study, Indigenous and non-Indigenous local residents, ‘beach-goers’, managers, and scientists were interviewed towards their perception and experience of site and catchment environmental condition, resource abundance and changes, and management effectiveness of these systems. Both the ecological and cultural findings recognised the land as a source of anthropogenic stressors. In Kāne`ohe Bay, Hawai`i, the benthic infaunal shellfish density appears to be more impacted by anthropogenic conditions compared with the surface dwelling Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. The latter was indicative of environmental condition. Although the shellfish fishery has remained closed since the 1970s, clam densities have continued to decline. This is the first C. gigas population survey, showing variabile distiribution, the highest abundance located at urban residential piers. The clam-bed sediment contamination concentrations exceeded the Sediment Quality Guidelines and were comparable to findings in the U.S. This requires further investigation by local authorities. Lower C. gigas condition index was associated with elevated tissue arsenic concentration. Native fish and plant life (limu) rather than shellfish were important species to ... |
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