Coastal and marine factsheets

• Invertebrates

Jellyfish

There are 250 species of jellyfish globally, with about 34 of these spotted in New Zealand.

• Monitoring programme

Coastal water quality for contact recreation

Waikato Regional Council monitors a number of popular open coast beaches during the summer months to assess the suitability of the water for recreation such as swimming and surfing.

• Coastal & marine processes

Ocean acidification

Between one quarter and one third of all the carbon dioxide (CO2) we produce ends up in the ocean. While this slows the rate of climate change, it also has negative impacts on the chemistry of the ocean as it causes the water to acidify.

• Estuaries
• Monitoring programme

Monitoring estuarine vegetation

Estuarine vegetation, such as salt marsh, mangroves and seagrass provide shelter, food, breeding and nursery grounds for animals such as fish, birds and shellfish.

• Estuaries

Intertidal habitat mapping in estuaries

Mapping intertidal habitats can provide important information on the environmental health of our estuaries.

• Estuaries

Ecosystem services in estuaries

Estuaries are are highly productive ecosystems that support diverse and abundant ecological communities of plants and animals and provide important habitats for many fish, birds and shellfish.

• Coastal & marine processes

Beach Processes

Beaches are inherently changeable as the loose sediment is easily moved around by currents, waves and wind.

• Estuaries
• Sedimentation

Mangroves

Mangroves are woody trees or shrubs that grow in shallow intertidal margins of sheltered coastal and estuarine environments.

• Coastal & marine processes
• Estuaries
• Sedimentation

Sedimentation

Sedimentation in estuaries is a natural process that can be accelerated by changes in land use or land management within the catchment, or by development of structures within the estuary.

• Seaweed & algae

Seaweed

Seaweeds are a type of algae, which are simple, non-flowering, typically aquatic plant-like organisms.

• Seaweed & algae

Sea Lettuce

Sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca, and other species of the genus Ulva that look very similar) is one of more than 100 types of green seaweed found around the coast of New Zealand.

• Estuaries
• Invertebrates
• Monitoring programme

Regional Estuary Monitoring Programme (REMP)

Waikato Regional Council’s Regional Estuary Monitoring Programme (REMP) focuses on sediment-dwelling organisms and sediment characteristics as indicators of estuarine health.