1. Freshwater and Marine at DOC
Lian Butcher
Director Aquatic

2. Overarching drivers for our freshwater work
National-scale freshwater reforms
Minister of Conservation has priority to improve freshwater habitats and to ensure conservation values are appropriately considered in policy development
DOC has been given a contingency budget for biodiversity giving possibility to scale up our freshwater capability
DOC has stretch goals of restoring 50 freshwater ecosystems from mountains to the sea, and enhancing the populations of 90% of our threatened species.
At Risk catchments
MFE and MPI are leading work on national-scale freshwater reforms (focused mainly on the RMA and related national instruments), and DOC will play a key role in aspects of these reforms (e.g. co-leading work on wetlands and estuaries)
MOC – includes - updating the law and regulations protecting indigenous fish, whitebait management review

3. What this means for DOC? Clear on our freshwater role at DOC
Clear on our priority outcomes
Focus on partnerships

4. Enhancing biodiversity by protecting and restoring freshwater ecosystems
Protection and sustainable management of freshwater ecosystems
Managing invasive species and pests
Freshwater habitat restoration
Threatened species management
Management of freshwater species for harvest
Partnership with iwi
This objective recognises that restoring harm is much harder and more expensive than preventing it in the first place, and provides strongly for DOC’s conservation and protection-focused statutory responsibilities.
This objective recognises the importance of water quality (in particular factors such as sediment, nutrients or bacteria) in supporting freshwater biodiversity.
This objective recognises the importance of good in-stream management – for example control of noxious fish, or fish passage structures. In a practical sense it also provides a hook into DOC’s statutory functions around freshwater fish regulations.
This recognises that degraded biodiversity values are unlikely to improve by themselves without active intervention. Also, the long-term conservation of biodiversity requires more than just the reduction of negative impacts - improvement of ecosystem values is required to build future resilience.

5. DOC’s freshwater toolkit
National policy and legislation
Managing public conservation land
Partnerships
Operations – our boots on the ground
Conservation advocacy
Statutory advocacy
Science and technical expertise and Mātauranga Māori
National policy - Ensuring legislation and national policy enables the right outcomes and gives us the tools we need
Managing public land - Protecting the values of public conservation land and recognizing its connection to surrounding environments
Partnerships - Working with others to protect and restore biodiversity eg wetlands restoration partnerships with Fonterra, councils and communities
Operations - Getting work done in the field eg constructing fish barrier passages, planting waterways, site based restoration, pest surveillance
Conservation advocacy - Growing peoples connection to FW to promote engagement with nature
Statutory advocacy - Advocating for good outcomes in formal statutory processes eg involvement in RMA plan or consent processes, limit setting etc
Science and matauranga – the knowledge and expertise than underpins all our work and helps build the capability of others

6. Stretch Goal> Intermediate outcomes> longer term vision
To restore 50 freshwater ecosystems … through collective and collaborative actions with multiple stakeholders … and increasing the number of site-based restoration initiatives”

7. Freshwater partnerships
At Risk Catchments
Other catchment/site based work
Biodiversity science input and operations
RMA Cycle
Monitoring/big data opportunities
Conservation advocacy
National policy - Ensuring legislation and national policy enables the right outcomes and gives us the tools we need
Managing public land - Protecting the values of public conservation land and recognizing its connection to surrounding environments
Partnerships - Working with others to protect and restore biodiversity eg wetlands restoration partnerships with Fonterra, councils and communities
Operations - Getting work done in the field eg constructing fish barrier passages, planting waterways, site based restoration, pest surveillance
Conservation advocacy - Growing peoples connection to FW to promote engagement with nature
Statutory advocacy - Advocating for good outcomes in formal statutory processes eg involvement in RMA plan or consent processes, limit setting etc
Science and matauranga – the knowledge and expertise than underpins all our work and helps build the capability of others

8. Marine work Forming a marine strategy
Bycatch work to ramp up – Anipodean Albatross, Hoiho, Sealions, Maui/Hectors, Seabirds
Marine protected areas
Science proposal being developed for marine mammal protection
National policy - Ensuring legislation and national policy enables the right outcomes and gives us the tools we need
Managing public land - Protecting the values of public conservation land and recognizing its connection to surrounding environments
Partnerships - Working with others to protect and restore biodiversity eg wetlands restoration partnerships with Fonterra, councils and communities
Operations - Getting work done in the field eg constructing fish barrier passages, planting waterways, site based restoration, pest surveillance
Conservation advocacy - Growing peoples connection to FW to promote engagement with nature
Statutory advocacy - Advocating for good outcomes in formal statutory processes eg involvement in RMA plan or consent processes, limit setting etc
Science and matauranga – the knowledge and expertise than underpins all our work and helps build the capability of others

9. Marine opportunities Marine habitat classification and mapping
Marine monitoring
National policy - Ensuring legislation and national policy enables the right outcomes and gives us the tools we need
Managing public land - Protecting the values of public conservation land and recognizing its connection to surrounding environments
Partnerships - Working with others to protect and restore biodiversity eg wetlands restoration partnerships with Fonterra, councils and communities
Operations - Getting work done in the field eg constructing fish barrier passages, planting waterways, site based restoration, pest surveillance
Conservation advocacy - Growing peoples connection to FW to promote engagement with nature
Statutory advocacy - Advocating for good outcomes in formal statutory processes eg involvement in RMA plan or consent processes, limit setting etc
Science and matauranga – the knowledge and expertise than underpins all our work and helps build the capability of others

10. Thank you
Arawhai kakariki