Fig. 1. New Zealand and its main offshore and outlying islands (from Atkinson and Bell 1973).
The matter of conservation of marine species in New Zealand has stemmed mainly from the recognition of the value of certain islands as refuges for whole ecosystems, as convenient areas for study, and as arks for the rescue of the threatened species that can be successfully established on them—an often highly hazardous and uncomfortable procedure for men as well as birds.
Conservation Measures
By statute, all feral species of birds in New Zealand are automatically protected unless specifically legislated for otherwise. (About 50 of our grand total of 285 species have been so legislated for.) One fortunate consequence of this provision is that all new arrivals—vagrants or new discoveries—are also fully protected. The legislation also states that it is illegal to have in one's possession the nests, eggs, feathers, skins, or bones of any fully protected species unless one has been issued a permit for this purpose. This restriction may apply to institutions as well as to persons.
After this good start and the setting aside of conservation reserves of various kinds, active conservation measures depend on making careful and comprehensive surveys of the species and its ecosystem—often none too easy a task in the New Zealand region because of the rough seas, the relative inaccessibility of many of the important islands and their ruggedness, and the near-impenetrability of some of the vegetation types they support. Having decided that positive action is necessary, the next step is to use all available media to inform the public (local as well as national, if the island is inhabited) of the situation and the proposals for remedying it. As in most other countries, uninformed emotionalism is one of the most pervasive and serious obstacles to effective conservation because of the political pressure it can generate.
Apart from formal ecological studies, the New Zealand Wildlife Service uses three main methods to support threatened species (other than the attempts we are making to breed certain freshwater and terrestrial species in captivity):
• The translocation and founding of new colonies in promising or unmodified habitat. Such habitats are not common in New Zealand because of the ubiquity of the introduced mammalian browsers, grazers, and predators (Williams 1977).
• The destruction, or at least the reduction, of such browsers, grazers, and predators by physical, chemical, or biological methods, or combinations of these.
• The exertion of social influences to promote changes in methods of land use or in traditional harvest for food (the latter can be particularly important as far as the Polynesian [Maori] population is concerned, as nowadays the taking of birds for food is predominantly a cultural rather than an economic matter).
Translocation has been a valuable technique for increasing the numbers and ranges of a few threatened terrestrial species. The very nature of most marine species, however, limits its application as far as they are concerned. Nevertheless, we have considered it worth trying for one nonmigrant wader; and no doubt it could be tried under similar circumstances elsewhere.