Huge threats facing critically endangered Bryde's whale the target of new Auckland art campaign

Friday, 24 September 2021

Rare Bryde's whale footage shot by drone, thanks to AUT scientists. (First published November 23, 2016)

Stretching much of the east coast, the Hauraki Gulf is a key feature and an integral part of the Auckland region - and a feature experts say is suffering from human activity and climate change.

Nestled among the shallow waters of the gulf, the very small and critically endangered population of Bryde’s whale has made its home.

With an estimated population of only 135 in the region, an art campaign, run by the World Wide Fund New Zealand (WWF), hopes to bring awareness to the mammals’ plight and that of the oceans' health.

The Hauraki Gulf is home to the Bryde’s Whale population year-round.

The Whale Tales Trail project has provided artists across the country with 1.8m-tall blank sculptures, in the form of whale tails, to be painted in a design that highlights the issues the whales and the ocean face.

* On the trail of the Te Atatu whale: the fishy tale of Old Sparky

Artists across the country are being given these tails to paint a on a design of their own.

* 12-year-old captures orca hunting and eating dolphin in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf

On January 22, 80 tails will be spread across Tāmaki Makaurau – each with their own design and information about the small actions people can take every day to reduce harm on our waters.

WWF-NZ's Marine Species Programme Manager Krista Van Der Linde says despite living right on our doorstep, many people have never heard of the Bryde’s whale.

“Beached” is in response to Benjamin Work’s experience growing up on the shores of the Hauraki. He wants to raise awareness of the over commercialisation and the need for protection of this precious jewel in the crown of Tāmaki.

The marine mammal is non-migratory, so it stays in the gulf year-round and lives off the fish and zooplankton in the area.

It’s their home, Van Der Linde says, but they are facing a vast amount of threats, which is why their population numbers are so low.

Boat strikes, climate change, declining fish stocks, ocean noise, pollution and habitat degradation are just a few of the human-influenced issues causing problems for the species.

The Hauraki Gulf has a complex ecosystem, Van Der Linde said, and taking one part out could cause a knock on effect.

A few years ago two whales a year were lost to boat strikes, but a voluntary system of alerting nearby boats when one is in the area was created, and a Bryde’s whale hasn’t been killed that way since.

Often, people think their individual action won’t help, she says, but the voluntary alert system is just one example of how one small change is already saving lives.

Recreational and commercial fishing have also played a role in threatening the species as the whales have had to change their diet to predominantly zooplankton, which can contain a lot of microplastics, due to overfishing, Van Der Linde says.

“Every bit of plastic we are putting on land can end up in the ocean.”

“Considering their high-threat status, we have a responsibility to look after [the whales]. They are really important to the entire ecosystem”.

Cora-Allen Wickliffe said her piece injects a little bit of Niue into the project.

If the whales at the top of the food chain die off, it can have a huge knock on effect, she says.

Auckland Council’s State of the Gulf report shows that since human arrival, the Hauraki Gulf’s key fish stocks have declined by over 50%, sharks by 85%, and whales and dolphins by 97%.

Artist Otis Frizzell is so busy he has to pick and choose what projects he is able to get involved with, but when he heard about the Whale Tales Trail he just “gravitated towards it”.

“I just like the ocean and I want to do my bit to help”.

The whales and the way the art trail works drew him in, he says the project is a great way to get people talking about the issue.

“Art is interesting, art is unusual, art is a question in itself. People don’t realise they’re being educated until it happens.”

Frizzell is waiting for his tail to arrive before finalising his design, but says he plans on going down an unconventional path.

It can be quite challenging to paint something so large, but that’s where the fun is, he says.

Of both Māori and Niuean descent, artist Cora-Allan Wickliffe says she is glad she can add a little bit of Niue to the project, as cyclones and rising sea levels are a big issue for the country.

I think our location in the South Pacific is really important, she says, we have a responsibility to be part of the conversation around climate change and the health of our oceans.

“This [art] is just another way of joining in on that conversation”.

She says she’s glad to be part of the “important kaupapa” to protect the environment.

“Linking those issues that are prevalent here in the gulf, with the problems facing Niue, is part of this piece of work.”

It took Wickliffe just a week to finish painting her tail.

“I know it should have taken longer” she jokes, “but sometimes when you are just in the zone, you are just in the zone”.

Working on it during lockdown helped with that, she says.

Her work resembles that of a Nieuan art form, Hiapo, and features patterns used in ceremonies and blessings.

The tails will be spread all across the region, even on Waiheke Island.

It’s almost a blessing on the tail and those who look at it, she says.

Art is an entry point for people to engage in something, or an idea, they wouldn’t normally see, Wickliffe says.

Once complete, the tails will go on display at locations across the Auckland region from January until May, when they will be auctioned off.

The money made will fund WWF-New Zealand’s work to protect and restore the ocean, particularly around the Hauraki Gulf.

For those who won’t be able to see the tails in person, a virtual trail will be available online for people to view the designs.

WWF-New Zealand CEO Livia Esterhazy hopes the project will be a catalyst for change and will inspire New Zealanders to learn about the state of the Hauraki Gulf.

“We are sort of suffocating ourselves - the ocean is critical for our own health”.

The charity wants to use Bryde’s whale as the flagship to tell the wider story of the state of the gulf, she says, as the mammal is impacted by all that goes on in the area.

“It’s about change, it’s about education, and it’s about getting out into nature”.

Getting out onto the trail and being able to see the art and read up on the ways people can do their bit to help will be a good first step, Esterhazy says.

“Bringing arts into it is a fabulous way to connect people to [helping the environment] in a way that a normal call to action might not.”

The Whale Tales Trail was planned to go ahead in 2021 to coincide with the America’s Cup, but Covid-19 restrictions pushed it back to 2022.

Stuff readers can win a mini tail to paint themselves by visiting the WWF-New Zealand Instagram page, following the account, tagging a friend and “telling a tale” of why you should win one. Terms and conditions apply.