West Coast Marine and Coastal Localities:
a Detailed Description of 14 Segments
5.13 Haast
(Ship Creek – Jackson Head, 56 km)
5.12.1 Summary
The Haast segment has a broad and mostly forested coastal plain backed by
mountain ranges of the Southern Alps/Ka Tiritiri o te Moana. Six large rivers
and several smaller ones flow out to sea, often with coastal wetlands at
their mouths. Beaches are mostly of coarse-grained mixed sand and gravel
and rocky reefs occur in places. The continental shelf lies wholly within
the territorial limits, with the steeper continental slope and several canyons
dropping off from depths of about 200 metres. The area supports marine life
that is important to the southern West Coast. Coastal access is made for
a variety of uses and at several points along the coast. Residential development
and farming are significant land uses in the immediate coastal region.
Notable features of this segment include: its accessibility from a number
of coastal settlements and roads, its coastal wetlands, coastal landscapes,
rocky reefs, canyons, cultural and historic heritage and recreational uses.
Commercial uses of the coastal marine area are significant throughout this
segment.
Existing protection includes areas of coastal conservation land associated
with coastal forests and wetlands, controlled whitebaiting areas and conservation
measures at Open Bay Islands. There are also several specified areas under
the Regional Coastal Plan.
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| Jackson Bay/Okahu Photo: T Hume, NIWA |
Jackson Head and Jackson Bay/Okahu looking north east
towards mouth of Arawhata River and Haast coastal plain. Photo: D.L. Homer GNS |
5.12.2 Natural Features
Coastal Land and Islands
The formation of the present-day Haast coastline has been greatly influenced
by processes stemming from the ice ages when large glaciers covered much
of the land270. Valley glaciers merged near the
coast to form a huge glacier tongue covering the entire area between Ship
Creek and Jackson Head. The Haast coastal sand plain developed since the
glaciers retreated and the sea level rose about 6000 years ago and is a
landform of geological interest271. A huge river
sediment output has caused the coastline to advance by up to 10 kilometres
over that period. As a result the coastline along this segment mostly comprises
sand and gravel beaches backed by a scrub-covered foredune with mostly pasture
land behind it on a Holocene coastal plain and outwash surfaces.
Taumaka and Popotai (Open Bay Islands) are the two largest islands in the
West Coast region. Together measuring about 30 ha in area and rising to
27 metres, the islands are a limestone remnant that was once covered by
the ice age glaciers. These islands support a variety of wildlife and biological
communities, and have been rated as habitats of high wildlife value272.
The vegetation cover mostly comprises dense kiekie vine with margins of
hebe shrubland273 supporting a variety of coastal
and marine biota274. The Open Bay Islands are of
particular interest because:
- Taumaka is the only known location for three critically endangered275 species: the Open Bay Islands leech, the Open Bay Islands gecko, and the Open Bay Islands skink;
- they support large breeding colonies of tawaki and fur seals, and are breeding areas for muttonbirds, fairy prions, spotted shags and gulls. Local populations of weka (introduced to the islands in historic times) and fernbirds are notable features of the islands;
- they support the largest known population of seal cress – a threatened plant known only from the South Island’s west coast – and are the type locality from which this species was scientifically described276.
The most sheltered harbour in the West Coast is located in the Haast segment, at Jackson Bay. It is sheltered from unfavourable weather coming from most directions except the north to northeast.
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| Neils Beach, looking towards Arawhata River mouth. Photo: T Hume, NIWA |
Arawhata River mouth and Neils Beach. Photo: T Hume, NIWA |
The beach along the majority of this segment has generally low foredunes
of about one to three metres in height. Coastal dunes at Ship Creek were
rated highly for their biological value in a DSIR inventory because of their
dune to forest sequence and also because they have examples of native coastal
vegetation easy of access from the highway277.
The native dune plant pingao is abundant there and marram grass and most
of the gorse have been removed. The dunes from Waita to Haast Rivers were
also rated highly in the same study, whereas the foredunes between the Waita
River and Jackson Bay were considered to have relatively low botanical value
due to “.....the simple and weedy nature of the beach-fringe vegetation...........
this coastal and lowland plain vegetation is much more important for its
variety on the older, inland, beach ridge and hollow systems.” (see
also section 3.7.2)
The Haast sandplain is important as one of the largest relatively intact
indigenous coastal dune forests remaining in New Zealand. Some areas, especially
in the vicinity of the river mouths, settlements and the immediate coastal
strip, are nevertheless developed as grazed pasture or are dominated by
introduced plants such as marram and gorse278.
However, natural values are high in locations where the forests extend to
the riparian margins of the shore and coastal wetlands. The Hapuka River
estuary kowhai forest walk is a readily accessible example of such a natural
area.
The southern limits on the West Coast for at least 13 coastal plant species,
including several saltmarsh plants279, have been
recorded in the Haast segment.
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| Waiatoto River Lagoon and beach Photo: T Hume, NIWA |
Mussel Point and Hannah’s Clearing Photo: T Hume, NIWA |
Coastal Wetlands and Waterways
Several large rivers – the Waita, Haast, Okuru, Turnbull, Waiatoto
(the mouths of which have all been rated as habitats of high wildlife value280),
and Arawhata Rivers – drain out to sea in this segment. Other rivers
and streams cut out through the foredune in places or more typically converge
with the mouths of the larger waterways. Most of the larger rivers fall
steeply from mountainous catchments before emerging onto and flowing more
slowly across,the Haast coastal plain. The Haast and Arawhata Rivers have
estimated annual suspended sediment loads of 5.9 and 7.2 million tonnes
respectively – not only two of the three highest on the West Coast
(see Table 2.1) but also among the highest in New Zealand281.
Wetlands on the Haast plain are closely associated with the sand plain forests
and the river mouth areas. Semi-tidal wetlands occur in the lower reaches
and small coastal tributaries of the larger rivers, and include Mataketake
Lagoon (Waita River), ‘Haast Beach lagoon’ (the southern tributary
of the Haast River mouth), Okuru River mouth, Turnbull River mouth, Hapuka
River estuary, Waiatoto Lagoon and Hindley Creek (Waiatoto River) and Barton
Creek 270 Coates et al 1993 (Arawhata River). In combination with the river
mouths themselves, these waterways provide important habitat for estuarine
and lowland fish and birdlife. The Okuru/Turnbull/Hapuka estuary complex
is one of the most extensive of these tidal wetlands.
Most of the rivers discharge their water and sediment loads through mouths
that often shift according to prevailing sea and river conditions.
Ship Creek is a small shaded, tannin-stained, rain-fed river with an 11
km course, several tannin-stained tributaries and a 28 km2 catchment. The
mouth of Ship Creek is frequently closed by beach sediment build-up in heavy
westerly seas.
The rain fed Waita River which rises from the Mataketake Range, has an 18
km course and 152 km2 catchment. Although its river flats are pastured and
grazed, forest often lines and overhangs the river. The river’s major
tributary is the tannin-stained Maori River, draining a large expanse of
lowland swamp and the Tawharekiri Lakes complex. Along with a series of
dune lakes that feed diffusely into the Waita River, this causes the lower
reaches of the Waita River to become light tea coloured. Within its tidal
reaches, the river is fast-flowing and wide, with little in-stream cover,
although placid waters are also present near the mouth. The location of
the river mouth along the coast is variable owing to the influence of beach
and sea dynamics.
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| Okuru-Turnbull River mouth Photo: T Hume, NIWA |
Haast Beach Photo: T Hume, NIWA |
The Haast River is a large, highly flood-prone, braided river with a wide
unstable shingle floodplain. It originates in the alpine catchments of the
Landsborough River and the north-west corner of Mount Aspiring National
Park. There are some grazing lands on the lower river plains. The seaward
end of the river receives the waters from dune swamps typical of the Haast
plains. While the swamp to the north of the river mouth is not large, the
swamp to the south is extensive but modified by semi-rural development.
The Okuru and Turnbull Rivers have relatively narrow floodplains. In their
lower reaches, each of their single channels are entrenched and flanked
by grazing lands in one of the oldest settled areas of South Westland. Below
this is an extensive estuarine area shared between the two rivers, as well
as the smaller Hapuka River emerging from a 17 km2 swampy catchment.
The lower reaches of the 55 km-long glacier-fed Waiatoto River are stable
with a single channel and well-defined banks. There are few tributaries
and these are small, but they drain considerable areas of swamp. Content
and Halcyon Creeks drain the same area of swamp that the Hapuka River drains
to the north, while Nisson Creek, Hindley Creek and Dawn Rivulet drain the
swamps around the base of Mt McLean. The 50 km-long Arawhata River is also
sourced from glaciated alpine catchments and its braided lower reaches flow
across a broad shingle flood plain to a wide mouth at the eastern side of
Jackson Bay/Okahu.
Seashore and Marine Areas
Beaches in the Haast segment are mostly of coarse-grained mixed sand and
gravel; rocky reefs occur in places near the coast and offshore.
Protected by Jackson Head from the westerly swell, Jackson Bay is the only
natural harbour on the exposed west coast of the South Island.282
Consequently the bay has some distinctive features unknown or uncommon in
other parts of the West Coast coastal marine area, including a relatively
high diversity of fish, seaweeds and subtidal clam beds.283
Jackson Bay is of scientific relevance as the ‘type locality’
for the robust triplefin, being the place from where this small coastal
reef fish was first scientifically described in 1878.284
Rocky shores occur at inshore locations at Mussel Point and from Neils Beach
to Jackson Head and typically extend out to about five metres depth (except
on the deeper outer parts of Jackson Head). However, the offshore seabed
includes some rocky areas, the most prominent being at Jackson Head and
Open Bay Islands, as well as elevated seabed features that approach or break
the surface, such as ‘Goldie’s Reef’, Alhambra Rock, Bignell
Reef, Open Bay Islands, ‘Falcons Reef’ and ‘Halfway Rock’.
Steep reef walls reach depths of over 30 metres in some inshore localities,
such as ‘Goldie’s Reef’ and Jackson Head.
The Open Bay Islands not only have significant terrestrial features (as
discussed earlier) but also marine habitats with some interesting features,
including a range of sheltered and exposed shores and extensive shore platforms
on their north-western sides. This small marine area supports the richest
diversity of seaweeds known for any site in the West Coast region285;
it is also an area of abundance for coastal reef fish286
and invertebrates. The islands’ position off the mainland puts it
further beyond the influence of inshore sand scour and turbidity that occurs
to a greater extent on the mainland coast.
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| Haast River mouth and beach Photo: T Hume, NIWA |
Waita River and Mataketake Lagoon Photo: T Hume, NIWA |
Goldie’s Reef’ and ‘Halfway Rock’ are two uncommon
examples on the West Coast of offshore submerged rocky reefs that are shallow
enough to scuba dive on, but they have not been biologically surveyed.
Coastal currents in this area are affected by prevailing wind conditions
and the topography of the seabed, and flow predominantly alongshore towards
the southeast287.
The continental shelf extends to about 10 miles offshore and is broken by
the Haast and Arawhata Canyons. While most of these two canyons lie outside
the territorial limit, their heads lie within about four miles of the shoreline
and reach depths of about 1000 metres within territorial waters. A broad
shelving area reaches offshore between the two canyons, but at a depth of
about 200 metres it begins to drop away inside the territorial limit, down
the continental slope towards the ocean depths of the Tasman Basin well
offshore. The little available published information about the seabed sediments
of this segment indicates a dominant cover of fine sand and mud288.
It is likely then to have the general sediment pattern of the other canyon
segment areas to the north – coarse sand and gravel beaches, grading
offshore to finer silt and mud, and tending to remain somewhat coarser at
the head of the canyons.
The Haast and Arawhata Canyons are significant submarine landforms of this
segment, but the natural features and ecology of these, or their surrounding
shelf areas within the territorial limits, are not well documented yet.
Important anchorages for commercial fishing vessels are located over an
extensive area within Jackson Bay/Okahu and on the inside of Open Bay Islands.
Coastal and Marine Wildlife
The Open Bay Islands have the greatest variety of marine wildlife (seabirds
and marine mammals) known for any terrestrial site on the West Coast289.
The islands are breeding sites for NZ fur seals, tawaki, blue penguins,
muttonbirds, fairy prions, spotted shags and gulls and an important roosting
site for variable oystercatchers. Fur seal pup production has been monitored
annually at Taumaka since 1991, during which between 500 and 1400 pups have
been born each year, with an overall trend of decline290.
Hector’s dolphins occur in moderate densities in South Westland291
and are frequently seen (especially in the summer months when calves are
born) at such places as Ship Creek and Neils Beach.292 Bottlenose dolphins
are occasionally present in Jackson Bay/Okahu, including a number of individuals
known to also inhabit Milford Sound.293
Tawaki (Fiordland crested penguin) breed in colonies at Jackson Bay and
Open Bay Islands and these sites comprise two of the largest known colonies
for this threatened endemic species (316 and 150 nests respectively were
estimated in the early 1990s294). Both of these
sites have been ranked as outstanding wildlife habitats295.
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Bottlenose dolphins in Jackson Bay/Okahu Photos: D Neale, DOC. |
Marine Fish and Other Species
This coastal region like the whole west coast of the South Island, supports
a rich diversity of fish and invertebrate species that are fished both commercially
and recreationally by a number of fishing methods including trawl, longlining,
trolling, potting and set netting.
Inshore trawl fisheries are multi-species and are primarily based on flatfish
(several species), red gurnard, red cod, giant stargazer, tarakihi and blue
warehou. Other species taken as bycatch include arrow squid, dark ghost
shark, ling, barracouta, jack mackerel, spiny dogfish, rig, school shark,
sea perch, rough skate and smooth skate296.
Deeper waters (200-400 m) in South Westland within the territorial limits
include a number of canyon heads and upper continental slope. These are
characterised by a predominance of such fish as ling, ghost shark, hoki
and tarakihi. There is no published information about the fish communities
of waters deeper than 400 metres in this area.
Commercial fisheries for crayfish, tuna, red cod, hoki, ling, bluenose,
hapuka, flatfish and rig (to mention a few) are an important feature throughout
this coastal and inshore segment.
A relatively high diversity of 51 coastal reef fish species have been recorded
in this segment, with 40 of these recorded from the rocky coast on the inside
of Jackson Head297. Further out, but still within
the shelter of Jackson Bay/Okahu, are beds of juvenile surf clams (with
densities of up to 2600 per square metre) and other shellfish and invertebrates
in the fine sand and silt298.
Paua in this area have been found from limited surveys to be relatively
scarce and small299.
5.12.3 Historical and Archaeological Heritage
This area has a long history, especially relating to occupation and use
of the Haast area by early Maori and European explorers, pounamu (nephrite
jade) workers, sealers, mariners and pioneer settlers300.
Important coastal archaeological sites include Taumaka, Okuru, Arawhata/Neils
Beach and Jackson Head301, recording a history
of settlement and food gathering
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Jackson Bay/Okahu is an important traditional safe harbour and nephrite
working area302. Taumaka is the site of New Zealand’s
oldest surviving European building relic, the remains of a small hut built
by ten sealers who were marooned on the island from 1810 to 1814303.
Early European sites are associated with the Jackson Bay Special Settlement,
sealing, gold mining or shipwrecks.
5.12.4 Recreation and Tourism
The Department of Conservation has developed several popular visitor facilities
in the coastal zone of this segment, the most frequented of these being:
- the Ship Creek walk, where a carpark, lookout tower, boardwalk and interpretation panels provide opportunities for the appreciation of coastal rainforest, a tidal stream, pingao dunes, open beach, and a dune-impounded lagoon;
- the Hapuka Estuary walk, where a carpark, boardwalk and interpretation panels provide opportunities for the appreciation of the lowland riparian forest and estuarine mudflat;
- Jackson Bay, where a carpark, interpretation panels, wharf, walking tracks, and boatramp provide opportunities for the appreciation of this historic settlement and harbour, fishing facilities, coastal forest, beach and rocky shoreline and open vistas to the sea and mountain ranges.
The Haast area is becoming known as an area for marine mammal watching
and several commercial operators run boat trips out of Jackson Bay. The
wildlife viewing focus is on Hector’s dolphins and bottlenose dolphins
within the bay and fur seals at Open Bay Islands and Cascade Point.
Whitebaiting is a very significant recreational and commercial activity
in the Haast area during the spring months, and the major rivers in this
area are widely regarded as providing some of the country’s biggest
catches.
Recreational boating (including fishing and diving) is an increasingly popular
activity in this area, with boats mostly launching out of Jackson Bay, as
well as the Okuru River mouth. Recreational vessels travel widely out of
Jackson Bay, and the fish caught include blue cod and other reef fish, tuna,
sharks, groper, rock lobster and paua. Popular fishing spots include ‘Goldie’s
Reef’, Open Bay Islands, ‘Halfway Rock’ and Jackson Head
to Cascade.
Other recreational fishing activities include shore diving (at Jackson Bay),
surfcasting and angling (mostly near settlements, river mouths and access
points) and mussel gathering (mostly at Neils Beach and Mussel Point). Beachwalking
activities occur at most access points. Mussel Point beach is sometimes
a venue for public and community events.
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Jackson Bay wharf Photo: T Hume, NIWA |
5.12.5 Commercial Uses
The Jackson Bay wharf, vessel moorings, storage facilities and road access
provide the main infrastructure for the operation of fishing vessels in
the area. The wharf includes berthage, winching and refuelling facilities,
and up to a dozen moorings for commercial fishing vessels are located in
the vicinity of Jackson Head, providing sheltered anchorage from most storm
conditions304. The bay is the main base for about
14 commercial fishing vessels, with up to five other vessels launching out
of Okuru River; the majority are rock lobster boats305,
but more vessels occupy the moorings during the tuna season and certain
times of the year.
The Haast segment area, as for most of the inshore West Coast, is fished
by commercial fishers using a variety of methods including bottom trawl,
trolling, potting, set netting and longlining. Vessels in this area mostly
operate out of Jackson Bay and Greymouth, but also Milford, Westport and
Nelson. Reefs in this area are also fished for rock lobster using craypots
by vessels out of and Okuru and Jackson Bay.
Resource consents and a Fisheries Act permit are held by Jackson Bay Mussel
Farms Ltd for a mussel farm to operate in a 45 hectare area in a portion
of Jackson Bay/Okahu.
Resource consents are also held by Okuru Enterprises Ltd for a water export
facility, including a 5.5 kilometre pipeline running northwards out from
Neils Beach and a mooring for large ‘Panamax’ size cargo ships
located about three kilometres off Jackson Head.
A mining license for beach aggregate exists to the north of the Haast River.
Whitebaiting is a very significant commercial activity in the Haast area
during the spring months, and the major rivers in this area provide some
of the country’s biggest catches. During the season, whitebait stands
line the banks of the Waita, Haast, Okuru, Turnbull, Waiatoto and Arawhata
Rivers.
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| Open Bay Islands from Okuru Beach; Photo: P. Ross, Auckland University |
Open Bay Islands Photo: P. Ryan, DOC collection |
5.12.6 Other Public Uses and Facilities
Small settlements occur close to the coast in some places, including Haast,
Haast Beach, Okuru, Hannah’s Clearing, Neils Beach and Jackson Bay,
and contain a mixture of residential and holiday accommodation, as well
as various shops and services.
Public access to the coastline is possible particularly between Ship Creek
and Hannah’s Clearing (but is in places restricted by private land,
wetlands and forest) and along the roadside between Neils Beach and Jackson
Bay. Frequent landslips onto the Jackson Bay road are typically cleared
by bulldozing over the shore adjacent to the shore.
The Open Bay Islands have been important for ecological research and monitoring
since the hut was built there in the early 1970s, with a particular focus
on fur seals and tawaki. A scientific monitoring station on the Jackson
Bay wharf comprises a small shed and instrument cable that is part of a
nationwide network managed by NIWA and providing accurate information on
tides and other water level changes.
The Jackson Head lighthouse serves to guide vessels into Jackson Bay.
There are Resource Management Act coastal permits issued in this segment306
for:
- whitebait stands (Haast, Okuru, Turnbull, Waiatoto and Arawhata Rivers);
- river and coastal protection works (Okuru River and Jackson Bay);
- stone extraction (Waita to Okuru River beaches);
- driftwood removal (several locations);
- gravel extraction (Waita River);
- a water export pipeline and mooring buoy, a mussel farm, a polythene cable and a wharf (Jackson Bay/ Neils Beach);
- a boat ramp (Okuru R);
- blacksand goldmining (north Haast beach).
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Jackson Bay/Okahu from Neils Beach. Photo: Nick Shears, Auckland University |
5.12.7 Existing Protection and Management Areas
Most of the coastal land and catchments in this segment are within Crown
conservation lands, including the Okahu Wildlife Refuge (which provides
for the protection of breeding tawaki in the Jackson Head colony). Private
and other land tenures occur especially in the vicinity of the Waita River
mouth, Haast River, Haast beach, Okuru-Turnbull River mouth and Mussel Point,
Hannah’s Clearing, Arawhata River mouth and Neils Beach, and Jackson
Bay.
The Open Bay Islands are privately owned Maori land, but are also gazetted
as a Wildlife Refuge. Helicopter landings on the islands are addressed by
the provisions of a gazette notice under the Marine Mammals Protection Act.
A biosecurity plan developed by the Department of Conservation aims to minimise
the risks of pest introductions to these islands307.
Several waterways in this segment are closed to whitebaiting 308:
- Crikey Creek (a tributary of the Haast River)
- Nolans Creek (a tributary of the Okuru River)
- Collyer Creek (a tributary of the Turnbull River)
- The area known as the Hapuka River (including any tributary stream of the Hapuka River) that extends to the sea on the south bank and to the Okuru Lagoon on the north bank.
- Any tributary stream of the Waiatoto River and the waters of the Waiatoto River above the mean high water mark.
The area lies within Fisheries Statistical Area FSA 33, which is part of the Challenger Fishery Management Area (FMA 7). The adjoining land area is within the Westland District.
The operative West Coast Regional Coastal Plan recognises:
- Coastal Protection Area; CPA12 Open Bay Islands
- Coastal Development Area; CDA3 Jackson Bay wharf.
- Culturally Significant Areas; CSA19 Hapuka (Mussel Point), CSA20 Jackson Bay/Okahu, CSA21 Jackson Bay/Okahu
- Coastal Recreation Areas; CRA17 Ship Creek, CRA18 Jackson Bay/Okahu
- Outstanding Natural Features and Landscapes; ONFL8 Hunt Beach to Waita River, ONFL9 west Jackson Bay/Okahu to Awarua Point.
- Marine Mammal and Bird Sites; MMB26 Open Bay Islands, MMB27 Jackson Head.
- Coastal Hazard Area; CHA18 Okuru River to Waiatoto River.
272 Coker & Imboden 1980
273 Burrows 1972
274 Newton 2005; Best 2001; Miller 1996; Garnock-Jones & Norton 1995; Richardson 1979; Stirling & Johns 1979; Miller 1996; Skeel 1974; Warham 1974; Crawley & Brown 1971; Benham 1904; Cockayne 1904
275 Hitchmough et al 2007, Molloy et al 2002
276 Garnock-Jones & Norton 1995
277 Johnson 1992
278 Johnson 1992
279 Overmars et al unpublished DOC data
280 Coker & Imboden 1980
282 Cpates et al 1993
283 Roberts et al 2005, Davidson et al 2003, Grange 2003, Grange et al 2001, Neale 2001, Neale & Nelson 1998, Knox 1991
284 Clarke 1879
285 Neale & Nelson 1998, Parsons & Fenwick 1984
286 Roberts et al 2005
281 Hicks & Shankar 2003
287 Chiswell & Greig 1991; Stanton & Greig 1991
288 RNZN 1984
289 Neale 2006e
290 H. Best pers comm 2006
291 Dawson 2001
292 Brager 1998
293 Russell et al 2005
294 McLean et al 1997
295 Coker & Imboden 1980
296 Stevenson & Hanchet 2000
297 Roberts et al 2005
298 Davidson et al 2003
299 McShane et al 1993
300 e.g. Bradshaw 2001
301 Hooker 1990
302 Hooker 1986, 1990
303 Neale 2006e, Cassady-St Clair & St Clair 1990, Begg & Begg 1979
304 Stevens 2000
305 Stevens 2000
306 www.wcrc.govt.nz “Maps on the Web”, June 2006
307 Newton 2005
308 Whitebait Fishing (West Coast) Regulations 1994
307 Newton 2005
308 Whitebait Fishing (West Coast) Regulations 1994