Bright colours, juvenile fish and clear water: These are good quality bryozoan colonies near D’Urville Island. At Separation Point, however, the seabed now features dead debris and soft featureless mud. The 146-square-kilometre protected area was off Separation Point, between Tasman and Golden Bays, at the top of the South Island. “In summary, the area is now a barren desert in terms of … habitats and juvenile fish,” the document concludes. Apart from the lost fish nursery, marine biologists mourned the loss of the bryozoans and other marine life that has disappeared from Separation Point.

Source: Stuff May 30, 2022 03:39 UTC