Te Moana nui a kiwa

Storm Te Moana nui a kiwa - photo courtesy Chris Ball 

Te moana nui a kiwa ( Pacific Ocean ) is said to cover one third of our earth's surface. Estimated to cover an incredible 169,479,000sqkm/65,436,200sqmiles. 

Boundaries of Te Moana nui a kiwa are said to be the continents of North and South Americas to the East, Australia and Asia to the west, Antarctic to the South and Arctic to the North. A big mass said to cover an area, even more than all the continents together. Within Te Moana nui a kiwa ( Pacific Ocean ) are thousands of islands - some coral atols, some volcanic and some archipelegos - chain or cluster of islands sometimes volcanic in origin.  

This great ocean mass needs ocean conservation - now in 2021 - more than ever. 

This great ocean is home to many different ocean life from tiny delicate purple storm shells ( Janthina janthina) and plankton. To the giant humpback whale which travels every year from the Antarctic and Arctic to warmer waters of the islands in the Pacific where they give birth. New Zealand where I live it is " the great humpback whale trail" or  " humpback highway" each year about June/ July from the cold icy Antarctic  Both coastlines of New Zealand towards the Kermadec Islands and from there to other islands New Caledonia and the Kermadec / Tonga trench in this great ocean to Tonga, Samoa and the Cooks. 

Humpback Whale 2015 - photo Chris Ball 

 Te moana nui a kiwa is also home for many diverse and indigenous along the coastlines and on the many islands of Te Moana nui  a kiwa ( Pacific Ocean) Including New Zealand and where I live and have always known this ocean by its Maori name - stemming from the community lived in and  whanau ( family ) passing  down the need for conservation, looking after our resource for future generations and for the ocean life living in. Have gone from what was once very plentiful to what is fast becoming  great scarcity - except for plastics. 

    In 2021
  three major pressures impacting on our ocean 
   Plastics , Over Fishing, Climate Change 

Found this map on the net - "scary stuff"  -

 seems that this ocean has a large garbage dump  called the " Great Pacific Garbage Patch - full of plastics - all arrived there via people dumping, currents, and winds. Keyed in  Tairua -  near where live. People like me who may  throw a plastic bag or bottle away on roadside edge. Down drains, creeks, rivers  this piece of plastic or bottle gets washed, until it reaches the sea - Te Moana nui  a kiwa then  travel across this large ocean - maybe 71,566 km - upsetting ocean life on its way - reaching the " Great Pacific Garbage Patch"  Even more " scary stuff" - there is tons of plastic in the whole ocean and getting washed up on the shoreline.

Check out this map where you live for yourself on  

The Ocean Clean up Plastics Locator  

Back at beginning of July, not long after a big storm, some of our community got together for a beach clean up at Tairua and Te Karo. Also our community saw Des Watson of Kiwis Clean Aotearoa  spend a few days in our stretch of the coastline doing a deep clean - including a couple of road verges . " scary stuff" 

 Check out Des Watson of Kiwis Clean Aotearoa and see what stretch of the shoreline Des is in doing a deep clean and spreading the message to all of us. Today as this blog is begun Des is at Kuaotuna - another beautiful stretch of  Te Tara-o-te-Ika a Māui ( the Coromandel Peninsula )  One day Des will be back home to his own place on the Coastline of West Coast. It is up to us to continue on doing something about it - for the sake of ocean conservation and ocean life.

Shoreline of Pauanui in cyclone Pam - photo 2016 Chris Ball 

Yes plastics in the ocean are out of control 

Have learned from   Des Watson - cannot clean up Te Moana nui a kiwa ( the Pacific Ocean ) single handedly - it is a massive problem made by all of us. However know there is a movement in our patch who says,  enough is enough!!!

                                       Time for each of us to : 

• Reduce  Use of Single-Use Plastics. ...
• Recycle Properly. ...
• Participate In (or Organize) a Beach or River Cleanup. ...
• Support  plastic Bans. ...
• Avoid Products Containing Microbeads. ...
• Spread the Word. ...
• Support Organizations Addressing Plastic Pollution.

and avoid dropping that plastic or plastic bag on this stretch of coastline - Te moana nui a kiwa needs that