Miranda (Pukorokoro), is one of New Zealand's most - Auckland ...

Muddy
Feet
Protecting the internationally important coastal
environment of the southern Firth of Thames

The coastline of the southern Firth of Thames, centred at
Miranda (Pukorokoro), is one of New Zealand’s most
important sites for shorebirds. It is an area of both national
and international significance, supporting thousands of birds
that migrate from their Arctic breeding grounds every year. It
also has one of the world’s most significant examples of a
chenier plain – a series of shell ridges which have built up over
the last 6000 years. The coastline here is recognised as an
internationally important wetland under the Ramsar Convention.
The Ramsar site plays host to more than 20,000 migratory
seabirds and waders per year, many flying up to 12,000 km
from the northern hemisphere to reach our shores. It is a
sanctuary for over 49 different bird species, including, most
abundantly, the bar-tailed godwit and the red knot. The godwit is
also found in other parts of the Coromandel peninsula.
The coastal wetlands and associated tidal area at Miranda also
provide important food and habitat for the pied oystercatcher
and the wrybill, which return after breeding in the South Island.
Other birds breed at Miranda including three species that only
live in New Zealand (the New Zealand dotterel, the variable
oystercatcher and the black-billed gull).
What has ‘Muddy Feet’ achieved
so far?
The future of the Ramsar site as a haven for birds is constantly
under threat, largely as a result of human activity. Government
and non-government agencies, along with iwi, are working
together to identify and address risks to this ecologically
important environment as part of the Muddy Feet project. As a
community, we can make a huge difference to the future of the
Ramsar site. Through small actions we can ensure this important
sanctuary is protected for generations to come.
Working with agencies and the community, the Muddy Feet
project has identified the values of this special site along with the
threats to these.
Photo: waen, Flickr

What is a RAMSAR site?
Ramsar is the name of a town in Iran where leaders gathered for an initial meeting
about wetlands that were deemed internationally important. They developed the
Ramsar Convention – an international treaty which supports the conservation and
sustainable use of wetlands and recognises their ecological, economic, cultural,
scientific and recreational values. Wetlands that are recognised as globally
important under this agreement are deemed Ramsar sites. There are six such
wetlands in New Zealand, one of which is the Firth of Thames site.
Miranda and its coast have experienced significant changes in
the past including:
• major accumulations of mud
• an expansion of mangroves
• weed infestation
• an increase in predators
• human activity, such as the use of land for grazing,
drainage, infilling and stop-banking.
The spread of mangroves and weeds is reducing the habitat for
birds, while sedimentation and contaminants such as bacteria,
nutrients and heavy metals entering the ecosystem are creating
other risks.
In the future, this precious ecosystem faces even greater pressure
from run-off of mud and nutrients from the land, further
mangrove expansion taking up critical roosting and nesting
grounds, contaminants from agriculture and damage by
stop-banking, drainage and infilling, sewage, stormwater,
invasive (weed) species, potential oil spills, over-fishing and sea
level rise.
The combined effects of all these could seriously degrade this
special place and the bird species – some of which are already
endangered – that rely upon it.
The project recommends that emphasis should be given to
identifying and implementing on-the-ground actions to protect
and restore the internationally important ecosystem – and that
this work should be built around active partnership with all
concerned stakeholders. Managing the risks to the Ramsar site
will benefit not only the site itself, but also ensure that the entire
Firth of Thames (a high use area for commercial and recreational
fisheries, aquaculture and coastal development) is well protected.

How did things get like this?
We need to go back 150 years to see why this area is suffering today. The
majority of the sediments that threaten the site were deposited there following
the clearfelling and burning of the land on the Hauraki Plains in the mid-1800s.
The effect of this worsened with the construction of stop banks in the early
1900s for farming.
Contaminants are generally at low levels within the site, apart from mercury
at the Piako River mouth, which is thought to be from the drainage of peat
wetlands in the catchment.
At first contact between Maori and Europeans, much of the land between the
river and the foothills on the eastern bank of the Waihou River was cleared. The
extensive coastal plains of the sourthern Firth of Thames were recognised by
Captain Cook and Joseph Banks in 1769 as “a garden and a pasture in which
the best elements of British society might grow into an ideal nation”, in spite of
being blanketed at the time by a vast kahikatea forest containing the biggest
trees they had ever seen (Park 1995).
Miranda Naturalists’ Trust
Miranda Shorebird Centre
D I S T R I C T C O U N C I L
Environment Waikato’s freephone 0800 800 401 www.ew.govt.nz

We now know what action we need to take to
minimise the risks to the Firth of Thames site. The
good news is that our analysis shows good policy
and work programmes are in place to address all
of the important issues relating to land run-off, with
opportunities to further improve the effectiveness
of this by working with land owners on innovative
solutions.
Following are some of the main actions that will
contribute to the future livelihood of the Ramsar site.
Marine biosecurity and harvesting
(Central government agencies)
• Carry out risk assessments for known and
potential invasive species.
• Implement monitoring of transfer of marine
farming gear between water bodies to reduce
the spread of invasive species.
What you can do
• Camp, walk and tramp only in signposted areas.
• Fence cattle and avoid grazing stock on stopbanks.
• Consult regional council guidelines on land
disturbance activities before you commence.
• Only take dogs for a walk in approved areas and
keep them on a lead at all times.
• Thoroughly clean and dry all boating/marine
equipment to help prevent the spread of invasive
species.
Fundamental research (universities, CRIs)
• Develop a general ecosystem understanding.
Legend
Kaiaua
Catchment Marine farm
Intertidal
Mangroves
Rocky reefs
State highway
Subtidal