Trip Report
HAURAKI GULF PELAGIC
31 December 2004
Eight of us left Sandspit at 7AM for a half-day Hauraki Gulf pelagic
- a New Year's eve run. The appalling weather of the last few days forced
a postponement from our original date of the 29th. A misty morning with
increasing fine breaks and barely 5kns N breeze, although once outside
Taketu Point/Kawau we met a big 2-3m NE swell - "easing to 2m"
had been forecast. Made four chumming stops inside and outside the Mokohinaus.
Birds seen included:
Buller's Shearwater - common
Little Shearwater - occasional birds seen (not as many as previously)
Flesh-footed Shearwater - common
Fluttering Shearwater - two huge flocks, plus others
Short-tailed Shearwater - two or three seen each time we chummed
Sooty Shearwater - one seen
Black Petrel - seen in good numbers each time we stopped
Cook's Petrel - many seen along the shipping channel. Usual debate about
Cook's/Pycrofts and now Black-winged, but other than some marked variation
amongst Cook's the latter two weren't picked up
White-faced Storm Petrel - seen from well inside LBI to outside the Mokes.
Came across 10s in association with 100s of Fluttering Shearwater plus
a few Black Petrels and two Short-tailed Shearwaters
NZ Storm Petrel - 2 possibly 3 seen at one location
Common Diving Petrel - only one seen. Haven't been seen inside the Mokes
for several weeks
Fairy Prion - back inside the Mokes (only just) after an absence of several
weeks
White-capped Albatross (imm) - probably same bird seen at two different
locations
Blue Penguin - a few seen while steaming
I've added the following sent to us from Jo Evans, Leigh Marine Laboratory
University of Auckland just prior to Christmas (22 Dec):
"This morning's 9am measurement of sea surface temperature (SST)
at Leigh of 15.2 degrees marks 13 days (the last 11 consecutive) since
the beginning of December of temperatures below 16 degrees. At this time
of year (mid-December) we expect temperatures around 18.5 (based on the
38-year average) so they are more than 3 degrees below the long term average.
"There have been a few years in the past with the odd 1, 2 or 3
days in December below 16 but only one year comes anywhere near to our
present experience; that was in December 1991 when there were 7 days below
16 degrees and these were right at the beginning of the month. This spell
of cold sea surface temperatures looks likely to continue for the next
few weeks at least and will probably continue through the summer so it
is turning out to be quite an exceptional event. It is likely to have
important biological consequences such as depressed juvenile snapper recruitment
in the Hauraki Gulf."
We've noted the same during our trips, plotting SST with bird activity
and at each chumming location. In October the Gulf was warming a little,
however a reversal seemed to take place. The effect in terms of seabird
sightings? We've been aware of the absence of certain birds such as Fairy
Prions and Diving Petrels inside the Mokohinaus over this period, and
NZSP appear to be easier to find further out compared to last year. Buller's
Shearwaters appeared to patrol the waters outside the Mokes. More on this
later.
Chris Gaskin and Karen Baird
Pterodroma Pelagics
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