Children’s surprise at wonderland
After taking action against plastic waste in the sea, two boys have found themselves swimming with subtropical fish – without a scrap of plastic in sight.
‘‘The water was an almost unnatural blue; it was so clear and so vibrant,’’ said 11-year-old Brooklyn School student Hugh Robinson.
He and Flynn Brydon, 9, from Hira School, were among 32 children chosen to go snorkelling in the Poor Knights Islands/Tawhiti Rahi marine reserve, off the coast of Northland, last month, in a competition run nationwide.
An eagle ray, snapper and thousands of two-spot demoiselles were among the fish they saw, with Hugh particularly impressed by a school of blue maomao, under a rock arch.
‘‘You could literally swim right through them and they wouldn’t budge.’’
Attending with a parent or guardian, the children snorkelled at the Gardens at Maroro Bay – part of the Poor Knights Islands/ Tawhiti Rahi that had been protected from fishing since 1981 – through the annual Experiencing Marine Reserves competition trip, sponsored by Dive! Tutukaka and The Bobby Stafford-Bush Foundation.
The pair were chosen based on projects they did at school, through the programme provided locally by social enterprise Tasman Bay Guardians, and the enthusiasm they showed when studying the marine environment.
Flynn and a group of classmates organised a poster competition to encourage rubbish-free lunchboxes, after finding plastic waste like chip packets in the creek next to the school, on the back of snorkel days at nearby
Cable Bay and Horoirangi Marine Reserve.
The plastic found its way into the sea, where animals ate it, and it broke down into microplastics, he said.
Hugh made a papier mache shark with rubbish spilling out of its stomach, and the words ‘‘plastic is the real predator of the ocean’’ painted on the shark in red.
Flynn said it would be amazing if such abundant marine life existed on his doorstep.
Hugh’s dad John said the trip underlined the importance of marine reserves, and the need to protect the ocean.
Touring the Poor Knights Islands by boat, they could see the water was ‘‘thick’’ with fish, he said.
‘‘There were just . . . schools and schools like I’ve never seen in New Zealand waters before.’’
Hugh’s shark model was due to be displayed as part of Nelson’s festival of lights this month, they said.
The Poor Knights competition trip was Experiencing Marine Reserves’ 22nd, with the programme part of the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust.
The day started with a minute’s silence to ‘‘show respect and aroha to the young man and his whānau following the recent tragedy at Abbey Caves’’.
The organisation said delivery of its national programme was only possible with the support of the Tindall Foundation and Lotteries National Community.