Goal 14: Life Below Water

Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

EV Maritime brings electric ferries to Auckland

Auckland Council recently announced that they have invested $27 million in two electric ferries, set to launch in 2024. The ferries will be designed and produced by EV Maritime, led by University of Auckland alumnus Michael Eaglen, co-founder and CEO.

The ferries will be owned and operated by Auckland Transport, who are implementing and further exploring multiple opportunities to reduce emissions, in line with the government’s climate change reduction goals. It has been estimated that ferries currently contribute to over 20% of Auckland’s public transport emissions. Read more

Greenshell Spat Co. – The creation of mussel ‘super babies’

Greenshell Spat Co is an aquaculture technology company set to enable the New Zealand Greenshell™ mussel industry’s $1 billion potential through the creation of mussel ‘super babies’. The venture was developed by University of Auckland PhD students Will McKay and Brad Skelton, who have commercialised their knowledge as scientists with the support of the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE).

The Greenshell™ mussel industry is currently valued at $300 million but is capable of so much more. Will says “There is immense global demand for the endemic New Zealand Greenshell™, however, supply is not able to meet demand and orders can be made years in advance. The fundamental limiting factor that prevents the growth of the industry is the lack of baby mussels (known as spat). These are the seed stock for all farms most of which is collected attached to seaweed from 90 Mile Beach. This “lack” of spat is actually more of an issue of inefficiency – 95 % of all spat are lost from farm production in the first few weeks. This is caused by a natural behaviour called secondary settlement where very small spat let go of farm structures in search of new habitats. Read more

Marine scientists’ innovative solutions for community education

Marine scientists from the University of Auckland’s Goat Island Marine Discovery Centre are finding innovative ways to inspire a new generation of marine biologists and conservationists. With the support of the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), they have created a New Zealand Underwater Soundscapes website that teaches users to create an underwater microphone (hydrophone). The website also has a map of New Zealand where resulting recordings can be pinned, giving a publicly accessible audio archive of the sounds of New Zealand sea life. Read more

MAUI63 – Using AI and drones to save the Māui dolphin from extinction

Using drone technology and AI to collect and process visual data, MAUI63, A start-up out of the University of Auckland, hope to empower scientists, government, fisheries and the general public to take action to try and save the world’s rarest dolphin from extinction and influence future marine conservation efforts. Read more