-
Source: ONE News -
Watch Video
Fewer young fish are surviving because it's becoming harder to find enough food and shelter in New Zealand waters.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said the alarming decline of seagrass is having a major impact on fish numbers.
Fisheries ecologist from NIWA Mark Morrison said fish use seagrass for protection.
"To them it's not the fact that it's sea grass per se but it's structure and they can hide in it from and protect themselves from being eaten by bigger fish and other predators," Morrison told ONE News
But that protection has been deteriorating for the last century.
Whangarei Harbour had 14 square kilometres of it in 1960 and now it's almost all gone.
Tauranga Harbour lost 90% of its seagrass between 1959 and 1996.
Morrison said the decline and loss is a world wide problem.
"We're not alone in it and in fact some areas are much worse off," he said.
The cause of the long term decline is thought to be sediment from land developments running into the ocean.
"What you do on the land goes down through the catchments, the rivers and it goes into the estuaries and seas. It has these big cascade effects down to the open coast," Morrison said.
NIWA is trying to help fish protect themselves in some areas, by putting plastic seagrass in its Coromandel estuary reserve to imitate the natural plant.
Morrison said 16 species have already flocked to the reserve.
Latest NZ News Video
-
ONE News Minute 9am update: May 26 (1:00)
-
Kids cough up $14m for Government (1:50)
-
Education ministry 'barbaric' (1:55)
