Sea Change

Roundtables underway

One of the most exciting developments has been the creation of ‘roundtables’ to broaden the collaboration scope around a number of key issues identified by the SWG. These roundtables create an opportunity for us to hear from other stakeholders, which in turn helps us form a broader platform for collaboration and sharing knowledge. Roundtable findings will all feed back into the SWG. The SWG has a massive amount of work to do in a relatively short time and this roundtable approach leverages their efforts. Roundtables currently under way cover:

water quality and catchments

fish and fish stocks

biodiversity and biosecurity

infrastructure and commercial uses (to include ports, marinas, shipping, and visitor infrastructure).

Future roundtables are likely to be aquaculture and accessible gulf (recreation, boating, visitors, and heritage). The SWG is keeping the ecology/ecological productivity and economy of the gulf as topics to be managed within the SWG, as these are overarching ideas.

Katrina Goddard

Katrina has a Masters in Marine Science from the University of Auckland and a background working in research and teaching. In 2011, Katrina’s passion for the marine environment and conservation led her to join the Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society – New Zealand’s oldest and largest environmental NGO – as the marine conservation advocate.

During her time at Forest & Bird, Katrina has worked on the Best Fish Guide and many other marine campaigns designed to protect our unique marine environment and species and to help develop a more sustainable fishing industry.

Katrina grew up in Northland and near the Leigh Marine reserve, where she learned to swim, snorkel, scuba dive and sail. While a marine biology student at Auckland University, Katrina worked at Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World aquarium, allowing her to get up close and personal with stingrays and sharks – her two favourite marine animals.

Callum McCallum

The McCallum family of Clevedon has been involved with the sea for four generations – but it was only during the economic downturn of the 1980s that Callum McCallum became heavily involved in aquaculture. Looking for additional sources of revenue, Callum and his father started farming Pacific oysters in the Hauraki Gulf, which borders their sheep and beef farm. Callum soon became an aquaculture advocate and – during 20 years as New Zealand Oyster Industry Association (NZOIA) President – he was the public face of New Zealand’s oyster industry.

During his tenure, Callum led the oyster industry response to a host of biosecurity, food safety and regulatory challenges including the implementation of the Government’s biotoxin management program, significant evolution of the bivalve molluscan shellfish safety standards, the gymnodinium catenatum cyst programme and the OsHV-1 outbreak. He also served as an Aquaculture New Zealand and Seafood Industry Council Director and as the Aquaculture Council Chair.