The University of Waikato's new coastal research field station is a busy hub for workers involved in an intensive survey of Tauranga Harbour.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council and university staff along with research students have begun taking a census of inter-tidal marine life to get a snapshot of the state of ecosystems.

‘Whole of Harbour' survey volunteers Elise Verschoor and Nancy Van Nieuwenhove taking sediment samples at Sulphur Point.

The data forms part of the ‘Whole of Harbour' survey being undertaken to study the health and biodiversity of the harbour.

It is a collaborative project involving the University of Waikato, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Tauranga Moana iwi, Massey University and the Cawthron Institute.

The survey is intended to help researchers provide better information to feed into restoration plans for the harbour.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council science manager Rob Donald says the last intensive harbour survey was conducted during the 1990s, and so this new one is overdue.

University of Waikato Coastal Science chair Professor Chris Battershill says this survey will allow researchers to study the connections between different parts of the harbour.

'We know a lot about the specific components of ecosystems, but not everything together.

'We want to know more about the connectivity of the ecosystems and how close they are to tipping points.

'The Rena incident has brought into focus how much we need this type of information – to be able to gauge how much the environment can tolerate.”

During a three week period, a team of up to 30 staff, iwi, students and volunteers plan to examine 75 harbour sites between Bowentown and Te Maunga to gather data on kaimoana size and abundance, as well as examining sediment character.

Surveys in deeper channel water will take place in 2012.

'Survey workers can estimate crab numbers by counting crab holes in the sand,” says Chris.

'Shellfish and other animals within sediments are counted by examining sieved sand cores.”

He says the aim is to establish the connection between the quality of the sediments and degree of any pollution, and the marine life that lives there.

'The survey results will act as a backdrop to more intensive study on the passage of contaminants from the land and other sources, up through the food web.”

Samples were being processed at the new Sulphur Point field station for later investigation at the Cawthron Institute, where scientists will determine levels of oil contaminants.

Chris says the ‘Whole of Harbour' survey is the launch pad for a new era of collaborative coastal research in the Bay.

'It is also relevant to the Intercoast programme, which is a multidisciplinary science research partnership involving PhD students from Waikato University and the University of Bremen in Germany.”