Beneath the Reflections A user’s guide to the Fiordland (Te Moana o Atawhenua) Marine Area Acknowledgements This guide was prepared by the Fiordland Marine Guardians, the Ministry for the Environment, the Ministry for Primary Industries, the Department of Conservation, and Environment Southland. This guide would not have been possible without the assistance of a great many people who provided information, advice and photos. To each and everyone one of you we offer our sincere gratitude. We formally acknowledge Fiordland Cinema for the scenes from the film Ata Whenua and Land Information New Zealand for supplying navigational charts for generating anchorage maps. Cover photo kindly provided by Destination Fiordland. Credit: J. Vale Disclaimer While reasonable endeavours have been made to ensure this information is accurate and up to date, the New Zealand Government makes no warranty, express or implied, nor assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, correctness, completeness or use of any information that is available or referred to in this publication. The contents of this guide should not be construed as authoritative in any way and may be subject to change without notice. Those using the guide should seek specific and up to date information from an authoritative source in relation to: fishing, navigation, moorings, anchorages and radio communications in and around the fiords. Each page in this guide must be read in conjunction with this disclaimer and any other disclaimer that forms part of it. Those who ignore this disclaimer do so at their own risk. First published in October 2008 on behalf of the Fiordland Marine Guardians, Ministry of Fisheries (now the Ministry for Primary Industries), the Department of Conservation, MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (now the Ministry for Primary Industries), and Environment Southland by the Ministry for the Environment, Manatū Mō Te Taiao, PO Box 10362, Wellington, New Zealand. Updated June 2020 and June 2021 © Crown copyright 2021 Publication number: ME 1314 ISBN: 978-1-98-852507-5 (print) 978-1-98-852508-2 (online) 3 About this guide Beneath the Reflections is the go-to guide for visitors to the Fiordland (Te Moana o Atawhenua) Marine Area. An interesting and informative read, it will help you to get the most from your visit to Fiordland. The guide provides: • an introduction to the Fiordland marine environment and fisheries including: – the Fiordland (Te Moana o Atawhenua) Marine Area and how it is managed – the history of Fiordland and its physical and biological character • practical information about the activities permitted while travelling through the fiords including important information to ensure you don’t transport pests into the area • information on recreational fishing rules and commercial fishing regulations for the area • a fiord-by-fiord guide to help you understand the Fiordland (Te Moana o Atawhenua) Marine Area, including maps and recommended anchorage sites • a list of charts and books about Fiordland. 4 5 Contents About this guide 3 FIORD-BY-FIORD GUIDE 86 Overview 87 INTRODUCING FIORDLAND 6 Big Bay area 88 Fiordland, a place of wonder 7 Milford Sound/Piopiotahi 90 How the Fiordland Marine Area Poison Bay/Papa Pounamu 95 was established 8 Te Hāpua/Sutherland Sound 96 Fiordland’s physical and biological features 11 Hāwea/Bligh Sound 98 History of Fiordland 15 Te Houhou/George Sound 102 PRACTICAL USER INFORMATION 28 Taitetimu/Caswell Sound 106 Overview 29 Taiporoporo/Charles Sound 108 Travelling in the fiords 30 Hinenui/Nancy Sound 110 Biosecurity in Fiordland 32 Doubtful Sound/Patea fiord complex 112 Protected areas 44 Te Rā/Dagg Sound 120 Marine mammals 48 Te Puaitaha/Breaksea Sound and Tamatea/Dusky Sound complex 122 Diving in the fiords 53 Te Puaitaha/Breaksea Sound 124 Jet skiing and water-skiing 54 The Acheron Passage and Wet Jacket Arm 126 Pollution 54 Tamatea/Dusky Sound 128 Radio communications 56 Taiari/Chalky Inlet 134 FISHERIES INFORMATION Rakituma/Preservation Inlet 138 AND GUIDELINES 60 Overview 61 CHARTS AND BOOKS 142 Bibliography 143 Recreational fishing rules 62 Suggested further reading 145 Commercial fishing regulations 83 Recommended navigational charts 146 CONTACT INFORMATION 148 6 INTRODUCING FIORDLAND Kākāpō chicks Te Here and Tuterangi. JO CARPENTER, DOC 7 Fiordland, a place of wonder Those privileged enough to spend time in Fiordland find a place beyond superlatives – the landscape is simply stunning. From dramatic peaks, sheer rock faces drop into steep forested slopes whose cloak descends right to the water’s edge. INTRODUCING FIORDLAND Carved out by glaciers approximately 20,000 At the fiord entrances and along the outer years ago, the U-shaped fiords are characterised coast, conditions are very different, and much by near-vertical rock walls, which plunge several more dynamic. The fiord sill entrances are hundred metres below the water’s surface to the comparatively shallow, and the wave action mud silt floor below. there mixes the fresh and salt water. In the greater light, algal phytoplankton and stands With rainfall exceeding seven metres a year of red and brown seaweed flourish, while in places, thundering waterfalls and cascades on the exposed outer coast dense forests of appear at every turn. This is a place of many bull kelp, Durvillaea, proliferate, fostering moods – wind can whip the sea’s surface into productive marine communities where rock a froth of funnels and swirls, but when the day lobster (kōura) teem and pāua graze the rocks. is calm, mirrored reflections are nothing short Such profound differences between the inner of magic. fiord environment and the entrances and open And the magic does not stop at the water’s coast have fundamental implications for the surface. Beneath the reflections of the fiords, fish communities. something unusual is happening. Fresh water soaking down through the carpeted forest floor absorbs tannins from decaying leaf matter, which stain it the colour of tea. On reaching the salt water, the less-dense fresh water floats on the surface forming a tea-stained layer that reduces the amount of light reaching the sea water below. Kelps, normally the basis of marine communities, do not grow well in the light-poor conditions, and are replaced by animals which normally inhabit greater, darker depths. Fiordland crested penguin (tawaki). BARRY HARCOURT Near the fiord entrances, the underwater sill (made up of glacial moraine debris) forms an Alongside Fiordland’s fish communities live some effective barrier restricting sea water circulation of its special inhabitants – bottlenose dolphins, into the fiords. Beneath the top 3 metres of New Zealand fur seals (kekeno), Fiordland the freshwater layer and restricted light, the crested penguins (tawaki), and blue penguins steep-walled inner fiord habitat is colonised by (kororā). On a lucky day, you may even see spectacular sea life, such as red and black corals whales, which swim by where the continental and fragile sea pens, and other species of rare shelf comes close to the coast. biodiversity that elsewhere would normally inhabit greater depths. 8 The push for protection Harvesting fish has been one of the main How the Fiordland activities in Fiordland ever since humans began to visit. It was always assumed that Fiordland’s Marine Area was isolation and harsh weather conditions would help keep its fish stocks at healthy levels. But established in the late 1980s declines in blue cod (rāwaru) and rock lobster numbers within the more easily The Guardians of Fiordland’s accessible Milford Sound/Piopiotahi and Doubtful Fisheries Sound/Patea began to cause concern. In 1995, when a suggestion was made that all fishing interests might get together and As vessels became larger and more powerful, and work on ways of looking after the fish stocks the use of floatplanes and helicopters became and fisheries of Fiordland, the response was more common, access improved markedly to overwhelmingly positive. all the fiords. Fears grew that the depletion of popular fish stocks that had already occurred The Guardians of Fiordland’s Fisheries was in the two most accessible fiords was now formed, and looked to the Ministry of Fisheries spreading to other parts of Fiordland. for advice and facilitation. Members included representatives from the Ōraka Aparima Rūnaka Inc of Ngāi Tahu iwi, commercial fishers, recreational fishers, and charter boat operators. At the first meeting, the Guardians adopted the vision: That the quality of Fiordland’s marine environment and fisheries, including the wider fishery experience, be maintained or improved for future generations to use and enjoy. Blue cod (rāwaru). RICHARD KINSEY, DOC For the next five years, members of the Fiordland’s commercial fishers were at the group shared their knowledge and collected forefront of the first marine protection initiatives information about all aspects of Fiordland’s in the 1980s and 1990s. Their extended periods fisheries. This was documented in the 1999 report of time on the water had developed a deep Beneath the Reflections – A Characterisation of and personal appreciation of the fiords, Fiordland’s Fisheries. The Guardians appreciated and they were keen to see two very special that local knowledge was invaluable for areas protected. identifying issues and developing solutions, and that in such a challenging and isolated As a result, the Fiordland Fishermen’s environment, solutions needed to be both Association, through its parent body the feasible and practical. New Zealand Federation of Commercial Fishermen, applied for marine reserve status An integrated approach to the and in 1993 two reserves were established – Fiordland marine environment Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve and Te Awaatu Channel (The Gut) Marine Reserve. During this period it became clear that the focus This marked the beginning of a challenging and on fisheries needed to be expanded to a more productive journey. holistic approach, covering every aspect of the marine environment. For instance, the invasion of marine pests has serious implications for fisheries and for all other parts of what is a 9 complex ecological unit.